LIBRARV^F. CONGRESS. 
Shelf .fiX.. 



1 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



SOVEREIGN GRACE: 



ITS SOURCE, 

ITS NATURE, 



AND 



ITS EFFECTS. 




By D. L. MOODY. 



"BT GRACE ARE YE SA VED^—Ephesians ii. 






\W43mNG' 



&*: 



WITH FOUR "GOSPEL DIALOGUES. 



NEW YORK and CHICAGO. 

fflemina Ux IRevcll Company, 

Publishers of Evangelical Literature. 



3 



FRIGHTED 1891 BY FlflU» H. BEVELl CO. 



The Library 
of Congress 



WASHINGTON 



Control Number 




tmp96 



027737 



PREFATORY NOTE. 
» > * < ♦ — 

IN the exercise of his high calling, the faithful am- 
bassador of Christ must not scruple to declare 
the whole counsel of God — " rightly dividing the word 
of truth," to all classes of hearers. He must warn the 
openly wicked man that if he persists in his evil 
courses, the just judgments of God will inevitably over- 
take him ; he must unmask the hypocrite ; he must 
utter no uncertain protest against the crooked and 
devious ways of the self-seeker and the time-server. 
But if he enters into the Spirit of his Master, no part 
of his public work will be more congenial or delightful 
than the proclamation of the full, free, and SOVEREIGN 
GRACE of God, manifested towards sinful men in the 
gift of His Eternal Son, to be the Saviour of the world. 

It has been my happy privilege in years past to tell 

out, as best I could, this wonderful story of redeeming 

grace. The following pages record the addresses I 

have given on the various aspects of this great subject. 

I pray God that in their printed form they may serve 

(iii) 



PREFATORT NOTE. 



to deepen in the mind of the reader the appreciation 
of this grace, at once so infinite and so undeserved. 

The chapter entitled "A Chime of Gospel Bells," 
though not strictly flowing out of the general subject, 
is in perfect harmony with it ; every note in the chime 
is intended to ring out the gracious invitation to 
" Come " to the God of all grace and be blessed. The 
Dialogues which form the latter part of the book were 
heard with much interest and profit at some of the 
London meetings; I think the perusal of them will be 
helpful in removing many of the hindrances that pre- 
vent anxious inquirers from accepting without delay 
the salvation that God in His grace has provided for 
the sinful children of men. 



2feHw^ 



CONTENTS. 
->*■€-> 

PAGE 

The Fountain of Grace 7 

Saved by Grace Alone 13 

Possessing, and "Working Out" ... 22 

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners . 29 

Law and Grace . 46 

Grace for Living , . . 57 

Grace for Service 65 

" A Chime of Gospel Bells " 74 



GOSPEL DIALOGUES : 



I. What It Is to be a Child of God . 
II. How to Become a Christian 

III. What It Is to be Converted . 

IV. Salvation 



. 95 
. 108 
. 122 
. 128 



v) 



" Grace ! 'tis a charming sound, 
Harmonious to the ear ; 
Heaven with the echo shall resound, 
And all the earth shall hear. 

' Twas grace that wrote my name 

In life's eternal book ; 
' Twas grace that gave me to the Lamb, 

Who all my sorrows took. 

" Grace taught my wandering feet 
To tread the heavenly road ; 
And new supplies each hour I meet, 
While pressing on to God. 

" Oh, let that grace inspire 

My soul with strength divine. 
May all my prayers to Thee aspire, 
And all my days be Thine." 

Dr. Doddridge. 



VI 




SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

CHAPTER I. 

THE FOUNTAIN OF GRACE. 

HERE are some words with which we have 
been familiar from our infancy up, and 
probably there are few words in the En-' 
lish language that are so often used as this 
word " Grace." Many of you at your table " say 
grace " three times a day. You seldom go into a 
church without hearing the word mentioned. You 
seldom read any part of the New Testament, espe- 
cially the Epistles, without meeting the word. 

There is probably not a word in the language so little 
understood. There are a great many who have received 
the grace of God into their heart, but who, if they 
should be asked what the word means would be 
troubled, and confused, and unable to tell. I experi- 
enced the grace of God a good many years before I 
really knew the true meaning of the word. 

Now, grace means unmerited mercy — undeserved 
favor. If men were to wake up to the fact, they would 
not be talking about their own worthiness when we ask 
them to come to Christ. When the truth dawns upon 

(7; 



SOVEREIGN GRACE. 



them that Christ came to save the unworthy, then they 
will accept salvation. Peter calls God " the God of all 
grace." 

Men talk about grace, but, as a rule, they know very 
little about it. Let a business man go to one of your 
bankers to borrow a few hundred dollars for sixty or 
ninety days ; if he is well able to pay, the banker will 
perhaps lend him the money if he can get another re- 
sponsible man to sign the note with him. They give 
what they call three days' grace after the sixty or ninety 
days have expired ; but they will make the borrower 
pay interest on the money during these three days, and 
if he does not return principal and interest at the ap- 
pointed time, they will sell his goods ; they will perhaps 
turn him out of his house, and take the last piece of 
furniture in his possession. That is not grace at all; 
but that fairly illustrates man's idea of it. Grace not 
only frees you from payment of the interest, but of the 
principal also. 

ITS SOURCE. 

In the Gospel by John we read, " The Word was made 
flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory ? 
the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father, full of 
grace and truth . . . For the law was given by Moses, 
but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." Now you 
know that for many years men were constantly trying 
to find the source of the Nile. The river of grace has 
been flowing through this dark earth for six thousand 
years, and we certainly ought to be more anxious to 
find out its source than to discover the source of the 
Nile. I think if you will read your Bible carefully you 



THE FOUNTAIN OF GRACE. 



will find that this wonderful river of grace comes right 
from the very heart of God. 

I remember being in Texas a few years ago, in a place 
where the country was very dry and parched. In that 
dry country there is a beautiful river that springs right 
out of the ground. It flows along; and on both sides 
of the river you find life and vegetation. Grace flows 
like that river ; and you can trace its source right up to 
the very heart of God. You may say that its highest 
manifestation was seen when God gave the Son of His 
bosom to save this lost world. " Not as the offense, so 
also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one 
many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the 
gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath 
abounded unto many." 

A FREE GIFT. 

Notice, it is the free gift of God. " Grace be unto 
you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the 
Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always on your 
behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus 
Christ." Paul wrote fourteen Epistles; and every one 
of them is closed with a prayer for grace. Paul calls it 
" The free gift of God." Thousands have been kept 
out of the kingdom of God because they do not realize 
what this free gift is. They think they must do some- 
thing to merit salvation. 

The first promise given to fallen man was a promise 
of grace. God never promised Adam anything when 
He put him in Eden. God never entered into a cove- 
nant with him as He did with Abraham. God told him 
" Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou 



10 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

shalt not eat of it : for in the day that thou eatest thereof 
thou shalt surely die ; " but when this came to pass, 
then God came and gave him a gracious promise. He 
dealt in grace with him. As he left the Garden of 
Eden he could say to Eve, " Well, God does love us, 
though He has driven us out." There was no sign that 
Adam recognized his lost condition. As far as we 
know there was no cry for mercy or pardon, no confes- 
sion of sin. Yet we find that God dealt in grace with 
him. God sought Adam out that He might bestow 
His grace upon him. He met Adam in his lost and 
ruined condition, and the first thing He did was to pro- 
claim the promise of a coming Saviour. 

For six thousand years, God has been trying to teach 
the world this great and glorious truth — that He wants 
to deal, with man in love and in grace. It runs right 
through the Bible ; all along you find this stream of 
grace flowing, The very last promise in the closing 
chapter of Revelation, like the first promise in Eden, is 
a promise of grace : " Whosoever will, let him take the 
water of life freely." So the whole revelation, and the 
whole history of man is encircled with grace, the free 
favor of God. 

Some years ago when I was speaking on this subject, 
a friend sent me the following: " ' By the grace of God 
I am what I am ! ' This is the believer's eternal confes- 
sion. Grace found him a rebel — it leaves him a son. 
Grace found him wandering at the gates of hell — it leads 
him through the gates of heaven. Grace devised the 
scheme of Redemption: Justice never would; Reason 
never could. And it is grace which carries out that 
scheme. No sinner would ever have sought his God 



THE FOUNTAIN OF GRACE. 11 

but 'by grace.' The thickets of Eden would have 
proved Adam's grave, had not grace called him out. 
Saul would have lived and died the haughty self-right- 
eous persecutor, had not grace laid him low. The 
thief would have continued breathing out his blasphe- 
mies, had not grace arrested his tongue and tuned it for 
glory. 

" ' Out of the knottiest timber,' says Rutherford, ' He 
can make vessels of mercy for service in the high palace 
of glory. 

" ' I came, I saw, I conquered,' says Toplady, 'may 
be inscribed by the Saviour on every monument of grace.' 
'I came to the sinner; I looked upon him; and with a 
look of omnipotent love, I conquered.' 

" My friend, we would have been this day wandering 
stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness — 
Christless — hopeless — portionless — had not grace in- 
vited us, and grace constrained us. 

RESTRAINING GRACE. 

" It is grace which, at this moment, keeps us. We 
have often been a Peter — forsaking our Lord, but 
brought back to him again. Why not a Demas or a 
Judas ? ' I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not.' 
Is not this our own comment and reflection on life's re- 
trospect? 'Yet not I, but the grace of God which was 
with me.' 

"Oh, let us seek to realize our continual dependence 
on this grace every moment ! ' More grace ! more 
grace ! ' should be our continual cry. But the infinite 
supply is commensurate with the infinite need. The 
treasury of grace, though always emptying is always 



12 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

full: the key of prayer which opens it is always at 
hand : and the almighty Almoner of the blessings of 
grace is always waiting to be gracious. The recorded 
promise never can be canceled or reversed — ' My grace 
is sufficient for thee/ 

" Let us seek to dwell much on this inexhaustible 
theme. The grace of God is the source of minor tem- 
poral as well as of higher spiritual blessings. 

" It accounts for the crumb of daily bread as well as 
for the crown of eternal glory. But even in regard to 
earthly mercies, never forget the channel of grace 
through Christ Jesus. It is sweet thus to connect every 
(even the smallest and humblest) token of providential 
bounty with Calvary's Cross — to have the common 
blessings of life stamped with the print of the nails ; it 
makes them doubly precious to think this flows from 
Jesus. Let others be contented with the uncovenanted 
mercies of God. Be it ours to say as the children of 
grace and heirs of glory — 'Our Father which art in 
heaven, give us this day our daily bread.' Nay, repos- 
ing in the all-sufficiency in all things, promised by ' the 
God of all grace.' " 




CHAPTER II. 

SAVED BY GRACE ALONE. 

WANT to call your special attention to the 
fact that we are saved by grace alone, not by 
works and grace. A great many people think 
that they can be saved by works. Others 
think that salvation may be attained by works and 
grace together. They need to have their eyes opened 
to see that the gift of God is free and apart from works. 
" For by grace are ye saved through faith ; and that not 
of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest 
any man should boast." Many people would put it 
thus : " For by your works are ye saved, — or by your 
tears, or your prayers, or your fastings, or your trials, 
or your good resolutions, or your money ! " But Paul 
tells us plainly that it is " not of works, lest any man 
should boast." If we could be saved by works, then of 
course Christs's mission to this world was a mistake. 
There was no need for Him to come. 

What had Paul ever done that could merit salva- 
tion? Up to the time that Christ called him he had 
done everything he could against Christ and against 
Christianity. He was in the very act of going to Da- 
mascus to cast into prison every Christian he could find. 
If he had not been stopped, many of them would pro- 
bably have been put to death. It was Paul, you re- 

(13) 



14 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

member, who cheered on the mob that stoned Stephen. 
Yet we find that when Christ met him He dealt in grace 
with him. No apostle says so much against salvation 
by works before the cross, as Paul ; and none says so 
much about works after the cross. He put works in 
their right place. I have very little sympathy with any 
man who has been redeemed by the precious blood of 
the Son of God, and who has not got the spirit of work. 
If we are children of God we ought not to have a lazy 
drop of blood in our veins. If a man tells me that he 
has been saved, and does not desire to work for the 
honor of God,' I doubt his salvation. Laziness belongs 
to the old creation, not to the new. In all my experi- 
ence I never knew a lazy man to be converted— never. 
I have more hope of the salvation of drunkards, and 
thieves, and harlots, than of a lazy man. 

WHAT THE THIRTY-NINE ARTICLES SAY. 

I find some people have accused me of teaching here- 
sy, because I say salvation is all of grace. I remember 
once, a clergyman said I was teaching false doctrine be- 
cause I said salvation was all of grace. He said that 
works had as much to do with our salvation as grace. 
At that time I had never read the Thirty-Nine Articles ; 
if I had I should have been ready to meet him. I got 
the Prayer Book, and looked through the Thirty-Nine 
Articles; and I found, to my amazement, that they put 
it a good deal stronger than I had done. 

Let us hear what they say — 

"XI. Of the Justification of Man. We are accounted 
righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord 
and Saviour Jesus Christ by Faith, and not for our own 



SAVED BT GRACE ALONE. 15 

works or deservings: Wherefore, that we are justified 
by Faith only, is a most wholesome doctrine, and very 
full of comfort." 

"XII. Of Good Works. Albeit that Good Works, 
which are the fruits of Faith, and follow after Justifica- 
tion, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity 
of God's judgment ; yet are they pleasing and accepta- 
ble to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of a 
true and lively Faith ; insomuch that by them a lively 
Faith may be as evidently known as a tree discerned 
by the fruit." 

" XIII. Of Works Before Justification. Works done 
before the grace of Christ, and the inspiration of His 
Spirit, are not pleasant to God ; forasmuch as they 
spring not of faith in Jesus Christ, neither do they 
make men meet to receive grace, or (as the school- 
authors say) deserve grace of congruity: yea rather, 
for that they are not done as God hath willed and com- 
manded them to be done, we doubt not but they have 
the nature of sin." 

That is stronger than I ever put it. These Articles 
say of works before justification that "they have the 
nature of sin." I never called them sin ! So you see 
this is not any new doctrine that we are preaching. 
When the church and the world wake up to the fact 
that works before salvation go for nought, then — and 
not till then, I believe — men will come flocking into the 
kingdom of God by hundreds. We WORK FROM THE 
CROSS, NOT TO IT. WE WORK BECAUSE WE ARE 
SAVED, NOT IN ORDER TO BE SAVED. WE WORK FROM 

salvation, not up to it. salvation is the gift 
of God. 



16 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

You have heard the Prayer Book; NOW HEAR PAUL; 
M Abraham believed God ; and it was counted unto him 
for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the re- 
ward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him 
that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth 
the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." 
Notice what the Apostle says: "To him that worketh 
not." That is plain language, is it not? I may per- 
haps startle some of you by saying that many of you 
have been kept out of the kingdom of God by your good 
works. Nevertheless it is true. If you put works in 
the place of faith, they become a snare to you. It is 
"to him that worketh not, but believeth." 

I freely admit salvation is worth working for ; it is 
worth a man's going round the world on his hands 
and knees, climbing its mountains, crossing its valleys, 
swimming its rivers, going through all manner of hard- 
ship in order to attain it. But we do not get it in that 
way. Paul went through all the trials and hardships 
he had to endure, because by the grace of God resting 
on him he was enabled to do so. 

PENANCE FOR SIN. 

Would you insult the Almighty by offering Him the 
fruits of this frail body to atone for sin? Supposing 
your Queen were to send me a magnificent present, and 
I said to the royal messenger : " I certainly should not 
like to accept this from Her Majesty without giving her 
something in return." Suppose I should send her a 
penny! How would the Queen feel, if I were to insult 
her in that way ? And what have we that we can offer 
to God in return for His free gift of salvation? Less 



SAVED BT GRACE ALONE. 17 

than nothing. We must come and take salvation in 
God's way. 

There is no merit in taking a gift. If a beggar comes 
to my house, and asks for bread to eat, and I give him 
a loaf of bread, there is no merit in his taking the 
bread. So if you experience the favor of God, you 
have to take it as a beggar. Some one has said: "If 
you come to God as a prince, you go away as a beg- 
gar : if you come as a beggar, you go away as a 
prince/' It is to the needy that God opens the ward- 
robe of heaven, and brings out the robe of righteous- 
ness. 

Paul says again: " If by grace, then is it no more of 
works : otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be 
of works, then is it no more grace : otherwise work is 
no more work." Paul is reasoning in this way: that if 
I work for a gift or attempt to give money for it, it 
ceases to be a gift. The only way to get a gift is to 
take it as a gift. 

An old man got up in one of our meetings and said, 
" I have been forty-two years learning three things." I 
pricked up my ears at that ; I thought that if I could 
find out in about three minutes what a man had taken 
forty-two years to learn, I should like to do it. The 
first thing he said he had learned was that he could do 
nothing towards his own salvation. " Well,'* said I to 
myself, "that is worth learning." The second thing he 
had found out was that God did not require him to do 
anything. Well, that was worth finding out too. And 
the third thing was that the Lord Jesus Christ had done 
it all, that salvation was finished, and that all he had to 
do was to take it. Dear friends, let us learn this les- 



18 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

son ; let us give up our struggling and striving, and 
accept salvation at once. 

A FREE PARDON. 

I was preaching in the Southern States a few years 
ago; and the minister called my attention to one of the 
elders in his Church. He said: "When the civil war 
broke out, that man was in one of the far Southern 
States, and he enlisted into the Southern army. He 
was selected by the Southern General as a spy, and sent 
to spy out the Northern army. As you know, armies 
have no mercy on spies, if they can catch them. This 
man was caught. He was tried by court-martial, and 
ordered to be shot. While he was in the guard-room, 
previous to the time of execution, the Northern soldiers 
used to bring him his rations. Every time they came 
to his cell he would call Abraham Lincoln by every vile 
epithet he could think of. It seemed as though he " lay 
awake nights" trying to study such names. At last 
the soldiers got so angry that they said they would be 
glad when the bullet went through his heart. Some of 
them even said they would like to put a bullet through 
him; and if they were not obliged by military order to 
feed him, they would let him starve in the prison. 
They thought that was what he deserved for talking so 
unjustly of Lincoln. 

One day while he was in the prison, waiting to be led 
out to execution, a Northern officer came to the cell. 
The prisoner, full of rage, thought his time was come 
to be shot. The officer opened the prison door, and 
handed him a free pardon from Abraham Lincoln ! He 
told him he was at liberty ; he could go to his wife and 



SAVED BT GRACE ALONE. 19 

children ! The man who had before been so full of bit- 
terness, and malice, and rage, suddenly quieted down, 
and said, " What ! has Abraham Lincoln pardoned 
me? For what? I never said a good word about 
him." The officer said, " If you had what you deserved 
you would be shot. But some one interceded for you 
at Washington and obtained your pardon ; you are now 
at liberty." The minister, as he told me, said that this 
act of undeserved kindness quite broke the man's heart 
and led to his conversion. Said the minister, "You let 
any man speak one word against Abraham Lincoln now 
in the hearing of that man, and see what will happen. 
There is not a man in all the Republic of America, I be- 
lieve, who has a kinder feeling towards our late Presi- 
dent than he." 

Now that is grace. The man did not deserve a par- 
don. But this is exactly what grace is: imdeserved 
mercy. You may have been a rebel against God up to 
this very hour ; but if you acknowledge your rebellion, 
and are willing to take the mercy that God offers, you 
can have it freely. It is there for every soul on the face 
of the earth. " The grace of God that bringeth salva- 
tion to all men hath appeared." Thank God for that ! 
Salvation by grace is for all men. If we are lost, it will 
not be because God has not provided a Saviour, but 
because we spurn the gift of God — because we dash the 
cup of salvation from us. 

What says Christ? You remember that when He 
was on earth, they came to Him and asked what they 
should do to work the works of God. He had been 
telling them to labor not for the bread that perisheth, 
but for the meat that endureth unto everlasting life. 



20 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

Then they asked Him, " What shall we do that we may 
work the works of God?" What did Jesus tell them 
to do? Did He tell them to go and feed the hungry, 
to clothe the naked, to visit the widow and the father- 
less in their affliction ? Perhaps you may say that, ac- 
cording to Scripture, is "pure and undefiled religion." 
Granted ; but something comes before that. That is all 
right and necessary in its place. But when these men 
wanted to know what they had to do to inherit eternal 
life, Jesus said: "This IS THE WORK OF GOD, THAT 
YE BELIEVE ON HlM WHOM HE HATH SENT." 

YOU CAN BELIEVE. 

A friend lately called my attention to the fact that 
God has put the offer of salvation in such a way that 
the whole world can lay hold of it. All men can be- 
lieve. A lame man might not perhaps be able to visit 
the sick ; but he can believe. A blind man by reason 
of his infirmity cannot do many things; but he can be- 
lieve. A deaf man can believe. A dying man can be- 
lieve. God has put salvation so simply that the young 
and the old, the wise and the foolish, the rich and the 
poor, can all believe if they will. 

Do you think that Christ would have come down 
from heaven, would have gone to Gethsemane and to 
Golgotha, would have suffered as He did, if man could 
have worked his way up to heaven? — if he could have 
merited salvation by his own efforts? I think if you 
give five minutes' consideration to this question you 
will see, that if man could have saved himself Christ 
need not have suffered at all. Remember, too, what 
Christ says : " He that climbeth up some other way, the 



SAVED BT GRACE ALONE. 21 

same is a thief and a robber." He has marked out the 
way to God. He has opened up a new and shining 
way, and He wants us to take His way. Certainly the 
attempt to work our way up to heaven is " climbing up 
some other way," is it not? If ever a man did succeed 
in working his way into heaven we should never hear 
the last of it ! I have got so terribly sick of these so- 
called "self-made men." There are some men whom 
you cannot approach without hearing them blow their 
trumpet, saying, " I am a self-made man. I came here 
a poor man ten years ago; and now I am rich." It is 
all I — I — I ! They go on boasting, and telling what 
wonderful beings they are ! There is one thing that is. 
excluded from the kingdom of heaven ; and that is — 
boasting. If you and I ever get there it will be by the 
sovereign grace of God. There will be no credit due 
to ourselves. 

" Saved by grace alone ! 
This is all my plea : 
Jesus died for all mankind, 
And Jesus died for me." 




CHAPTER III. 

POSSESSING, AND ''WORKING OUT." 

CAN imagine some one asking: What does 
M that passage mean — "Work out your own 
salvation with fear and trembling?" Well, 
I want you to emphasize the word your: 
" Work out your salvation." That is most important. 
You hear people talk of working out salvation, when all 
the time they have not got it. How can you work out 
what you do not possess? Paul is here writing to the 
Christians at Philippi. They were already saved by the 
grace of God. Now that they had got this wonderful 
gift, he says: "Go, work it out." When you see a 
person working for salvation, you may know that he 
has got a false idea of the teaching of the Scripture. 
We have salvation as a gift ; and of course we cannot 
get it by working for it. It is our appreciation of this 
gift that makes us work. 

Many people are working and working, as Rowland 
Hill says, like children on a rocking horse — it is a 
beautiful motion, but there is no progress. Those who 
are working for salvation are like men on a treadmill, 
going round, and round, and round ; toiling, and toiling, 
and toiling; but nothing comes of it all. There is no 
progress, and there cannot be until you have the mo- 
tive power within, till the breath of life comes from 

(22) 



POSSESSING, AND "WORKING OUT." 23 

God, which can alone give you power to work for 
others. 

Suppose I say to my son : " You are going away from 
home ; and I want you to be very careful how you 
spend that $500." "Well," he says, "if you will give 
me $500, I will be careful about it ; but how can I be 
careful in spending what I have not got?" And so, un- 
less you have salvation, you cannot work it out. 

Take another illustration. One summer my boy 
asked me to give him a piece of ground that he might 
have a garden all to himself. I said I would give it to 
him; but that I expected he would keep it clear of 
weeds, and use it in some way that would make it pleas- 
ant and profitable to him. He was to work out the 
piece of land ; but he could not do that until I had 
given it to him. Neither was it his working it out that 
secured him the garden. I gave it to him freely, apart 
from any merit of his own ; but I did so on the under- 
standing that he should employ it to the best advan- 
tage. I think that is a fair illustration of our working 
out the salvation that God has given us. 

Of course these illustartions fail in some points. I 
could not impart to my son the willingness to work out 
the piece of land, though I could provide him with all 
the necessary implements. God not only gives us sal- 
vation freely, but he gives us the power to work it 
out. 

A writer says on this point : " Paul does not com- 
mand the Philippians to save themselves. There was no 
thought in his mind of any meritorious self-righteous- 
ness. Man can by no work of his own either procure 
salvation or merit salvation. God worketh the salva- 



24 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

1 

tion within the soul — man only worketh that salvation 
out in the Christian life. To break off from known sin ; 
to renounce all self-righteousness ; to cast ourselves in 
loving faith on the merits of Christ crucified ; to com- 
mence at once a life of self-denial, of prayer, of obedi- 
ence ; to turn from all that God forbids, resolutely and 
earnestly, unto all that God requires — this is what the 
text implies. But then this is not salvation. Salvation 
is of God — of grace — of free grace, From the germ to 
the fruit, from foundation to top-stone — it is of grace, 
free grace, altogether and only. But the ' working out 
of salvation'— -is man s part in the work of salvation. 
God will not repent for the man ; nor believe for the 
man ; nor lead a holy life for the man. God worketh 
inwardly — man worketh outwardly. And this outward 
human work is as necessary as the inward Divine 
work." 

God works in US; and then we work for Him. If 
He has done a work in us, we certainly ought to go and 
work for others. A man must have this salvation, and 
must know it, before he can work for the salvation of 
others. 

Many of you have tried hard to save yourselves ; but 
what has been the end of it all ? I remember a lady in 
the North of England who became quite angry when I 
made this remark publicly : " No one in this congrega- 
tion will be saved till they stop trying to save them- 
selves." Down she came from the gallery, and said to 
me: "You have made me perfectly miserable." "In- 
deed," I said, " how is that ? " " Why, I always thought 
that if I kept on trying, God would save me at some 
time; and now you tell me to stop trying: what, then, 



POSSESSING, AND "WORKING OUT." 25 

am I to do?" "Why, let the Lord save you." She 
went off in something like a rage. It is not always a 
bad sign when you see a man or a woman wake up cross, 
if it is the Word of God that wakes them up. A day 
or two afterwards she came and thanked me. She said 
she had been turning over in her mind what I had said ; 
and at last the truth dawned upon her, that though she 
had worked long, though she had formed a good many 
resolutions, she had made no progress. So she gave up 
the struggle ; and then it was that the Lord Jesus saved 
her. 

I want to ask you this question : If sin needs forgive- 
ness — and all sin is against God — how can you work out 
your own forgiveness? If I stole $100 from a friend, I 
could not forgive myself, could I? No act of mine 
would bring about forgiveness, unless my friend forgave 
me. And so, if I want forgiveness of sin, it must be 
the work of God. If we look at salvation as a new life, 
it must be the work of God. God is the author of life: 
you cannot give yourself life. If we consider it as a 
gift, it must come from some one outside of ourselves. 
That is what I read in the Bible — Salvation as a gift. 
While I am speaking, you can make up your mind that 
you will stop trying, and take this gift. 

I wish I could get this whole audience to drop the 
word try, and put the word trust in its place. The for- 
giving grace of God is wonderful. He will save you 
this very minute, if you are willing to be saved. He 
delights in mercy. He wants to show that mercy to 
every soul. The religion of Christ is not man working 
his way up to God ; it is God coming down to man. It 
is Christ coming down to the pit of sin and woe where 



SOVEREIGN GRACE. 



we are, bringing us out of the pit, putting our feet upon 
a rock, and a new song in our mouth. He will do it 
this minute, while I am speaking, if you will let Him. 
Will you let Him? That is the question. 

I do not believe much in dreams ; but they some- 
times illustrate a point. I heard about a woman who 
had been trying for a long time, just like many of you, 
to be better and better. She tried to save herself, but 
made no progress. One night she fell asleep in a very 
troubled state of mind, and she had a dream. She 
thought that she was in a pit striving to get out — climb- 
ing and slipping, climbing and slipping, climbing and 
slipping; at last she gave up the struggle, and laid her- 
self down at the bottom of the pit to die. She hap- 
pened to look up, and she saw through the mouth of 
the pit a beautiful star. She fixed her eye on it; and 
it seemed as if the star lifted her up till she was almost 
out. But the thought of herself came to her mind ; she 
looked off at the sides of the pit : immediately she lost 
sight of the star, and down to the bottom of the pit 
she went. Again she fixed her eye on the star; and 
again it seemed to lift her almost out. But once again 
she took her eye off the star, and looked at herself ; 
down into the pit she fell again ! The third time she 
fixed her eye on the star and was lifted higher and 
higher, until all at once her feet struck the ground above, 
and she awoke from her sleep. 

God taught her a lesson by the dream. She learned 
that if ever she was to be saved, she must give up the 
struggle, and let Jesus Christ save her. My friends, 
give up the struggle to-day ! You have tried long and 
hard. It has been a hard battle, has it not ? Give it 



POSSESSING, AND "WORKING OUT." 27 

up ; and repose in the arms of Jesus Christ. Say " Lord, 
I come to thee as a poor sinner ; wilt Thou not save me 
and help me?" "The gift of God is eternal life." It 
is offered to all : who will have it ? 

I see some children here : let me tell you a story. If 
you have not heard it before, please do not forget it. A 
Sunday school teacher wished to show his class how free 
the gift of God is. He took a silver watch from his 
pocket one day, and offered it to the eldest boy in the 
class. " It is yours, if you will take it." The little fel- 
low sat and grinned at the teacher. He thought he 
was joking. The teacher offered it to the next boy, and 
said : " Take that watch : it is yours." The little fellow 
thought he would be laughed at if he held out his hand, 
and therefore he sat still. In the same way the teacher 
went nearly round the class : but not one of them 
would accept the proffered gift. At length he came to 
the smallest boy. When the watch was offered to the 
little fellow, he took it and put it into his pocket. All 
the class laughed at him. " I am thankful, my boy," 
said the teacher, "that you believe my word. The 
watch is yours. Take good care of it. Wind it up 
every night." The rest of the class looked on in amaze- 
ment ; and one of them said : " Teacher, you don't mean 
that the watch is his? You don't mean that he hasn't 
to give it back to you?" "No," said the teacher, "he 
hasn't to give it back to me. It is his own now." Oh 
— h — h ! if I had only known that, wouldn't I have 
taken it ! " 

I see you laugh ; but my friends you are laughing at 
yourselves. You need not go far away to find these 
boys. Salvation is freely offered to all ; but the trouble 



SOVEREIGN GRACE. 



is that men do not believe God's Word, and do not 
accept the gift. Who will accept it now? 

I found a few lines the other day on this point that I 
thought very good. I will close with them : 



I would not work my soul to save, 
For that my Lord hath done ; 

But I would work like any slave, 
For love of God's dear Son." 



CHAPTER IV. 

GRACE ABOUNDING TO THE CHIEF OF 
SINNERS. 

* WANT to lay emphasis on the fact that God 
SSW^ desires to show mercy to all. Christ's last 
^ command to His disciples was, " Go ye into 
all the world and preach the Gospel to every 
creature." There maybe some hearing me who have 
not received this grace, though it has often been pressed 
on their acceptance. One reason why many do not be- 
come partakers of this grace is — that they think they 
can do better without it. The Jews said they were the 
seed of Abraham. They had Moses and the Law : 
therefore they had no need of the pardoning grace of 
God that Christ had come to bring. We read in the 
book of Revelation of a church that said it was " rich, 
and increased in goods, and had need of nothing." 
That was the trouble whert Christ was down here. In- 
stead of coming to Him to be blessed, the people too 
often went away thinking and saying they had no need 
of His favor and blessing. 

THE TWO PRAYERS. 

In the Gospel by Luke Christ brings two men before 
us. I do not know that we can get any two cases in 
Scripture that will give us more light on this subject 

(29) 



30 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

than those of the Pharisee and the Publican, who went 
into the temple to pray. One went away as empty as he 
came. He was like the church described in Revelation, 
to which I have referred. He went into the temple de- 
siring nothing; and he got nothing. The other man 
asked for something ; he asked for pardon and mercy. 
And he went down to his house justified. 

Take the prayer of the Pharisee. There is no con- 
fession in it, no adoration, no contrition, no petition. 
As I have said, he asked for nothing and he got noth- 
ing. Some one has said that he went into the temple 
not to pray but to boast. The sun and the moon were 
as far apart as these two men. One was altogether of 
a different spirit to the other. The one prayed with 
his head, and the other with his heart. The one told 
God what a wonderfully great and good man he was : 
" I am not as other men — or even as this publican." 
His prayer was not a long one ; it consisted of thirty- 
four words ; yet there were five capital " Ts n in it. It 
was self in the beginning, self in the middle, self in the 
end — self all through. " ' I fast twice a week ; ' ' I give 
tithes of all I possess ; ' I am a wonderfully good man, 
am I not, Lord ? " He struck a balance twice a week, 
and God was his debtor every time. He paraded his 
good deeds before God and man. Such a one was not 
in a condition to receive the favor of God. 

You can divide the human family to-day into two 
classes — PHARISEES AND PUBLICANS. There are those 
who are poor in spirit : the dew of God's grace will fall 
upon them. There are others who are drawing around 
them the rags of their self-righteousness : they will al- 
ways go away without the blessing of God, There were 



GRACE ABOUNDING. 31 

but seven words in the prayer of the Publican : " God be 
merciful to me a sinner ! " He came to God confess- 
ing his sins, and asking for mercy ; and he received it. 

If you were to run through Scripture, you would find 
that where men have gone to God in the spirit of the 
Publican, He has dealt with them in mercy and grace. 

A young man came to one of our meetings in New 
York a few years ago. He was convicted of sin ; and 
he made up his mind he would go home and pray. He 
lived a number of miles away, and he started for home. 
On the way, as he was meditating about his sins and 
wondering what he was going to do when he got home, 
the thought occurred to him : u Why should I not pray 
right here in the street?" But he found he did not 
know just how to begin. Then he remembered that 
when he was a child, his mother had taught him this 
prayer of the Publican : " God be merciful to me a sin- 
ner ! " So he began just where he stood. He said after- 
wards, that before he got to the little word " me," God 
met him in grace, and blessed him. And so the moment 
we open our lips to ask God for pardon, if the request 
comes from the heart, God will meet us in mercy. 

Let our cry be that of the Publican : " Be merciful to 
me ! " — not to some one else. A mother was telling me 
some time ago that she had trouble with one of her sons, 
because he had not treated his brother rightly. She 
sent him upstairs ; and after awhile she asked him what 
he had been doing. He replied that he had been pray- 
ing for his brother ! Although he had been the naughty 
one, he was acting as if the fault lay with his brother 
instead of himself. So many of us can see the failings 
of others readily enough ; but when we get a good look 



32 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

at ourselves, we will get down before God as the Publi- 
can did and cry for mercy : and that cry will bring an 
immediate answer. God delights to deal in grace with 
the poor in spirit. He wants to see in us a broken and 
contrite heart. If we take the place of a sinner, confess- 
ing our sins and asking for mercy, the grace of God 
will meet us right then and there ; and we shall have 
the assurance of His forgiveness. 

In Matthew we see how God deals in grace with those 
who come in the right spirit. " Then came she and 
worshipped Him, saying, Lord, help me ! But he an- 
swered and said, " It is not meet to take the children's 
bread, and to cast it to dogs." And she said, " Truth, 
Lord : yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from 
their master's table. Then Jesus answered and said 
unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee 
even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole 
from that very hour." 

The disciples did not understand how full of grace 
was the heart of Christ. This poor woman belonged to 
the far-off coasts of Tyre and Sidon. She was a poor 
Gentile, and they wanted to send her away. They 
thought she was not one of the elect ; she did not be- 
long to the house of Israel. So they said to the Mas- 
ter, " Send her away, for she crieth after us." Can you 
conceive of the loving Saviour sending away a poor 
troubled one who comes to Him ? I challenge you to 
find a single instance of His doing such a thing, from 
the beginning to the end of His ministry. Send her 
away ! I believe He would rather send an angel away 
than a poor suppliant for His mercy ; He delighted to 
have such as she come to Him. But He was going to 



GRACE ABOUNDING. 3S 



test her, as well as to give an object-lesson to those who 
should come after. " It is not meet," He said, " to 
take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs." 

A HUMBLE SPIRIT. 

I am afraid if some of us had been in her place we 
would have answered somewhat in this fashion : " You 
call me a Gentile dog, do you ? I would not take any- 
thing from you now if you were to give it to me. Why, 
I know a Jewish woman who lives in my town. Though 
she is a daughter of Abraham she is the meanest woman 
in the whole street. I would not let my dogs associate 
with her." If this poor woman had replied to the Mas- 
ter in such a fashion, she would not have got anything. 
Yet you will find a good many men who respond to 
the Saviour in that way when He wants to deal in grace 
with them. 

What does this Gentile woman say ? " Truth Lord ; 
yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their 
masters' table." She took her right place — down at 
the feet of the blessed Master. There was humility 
for you ! She was willing to take any place if the 
Lord would but meet her need ; the Lord blessed her. 
See asked for a crumb, and He gave her a whole loaf ! 

I once heard Rev. William Arnot say that he was the 
guest of a friend who had a favorite dog. The animal 
would come into the room where the family were sit- 
ting at the dinner table and would stand looking at his 
master. If the master threw him a crumb, the dog 
would seize it before it got to the floor. But if he put 
the joint of meat down on the floor the dog would look 
at it and leave it alone, as if it were too good for him. 



34 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

"So," said Mr. Arnot, "there are many Christians who 
are satisfied to live on crumbs, when God wants to give 
them the whole joint." 

A FULL BLESSING. 

This poor woman got all she wanted ; and if we will 
come in the right spirit — if we are humble and poor in 
spirit — and call upon God for what we want, He will 
not disappoint us. She went right to the Son of God, 
and appealed to His great loving heart with the cry, 
"Lord help me!" and he helped her. Let that cry go 
up to him to-day, and see how quickly the answer will 
come. I never knew a case where God did not answer 
right on the spot, where there was the spirit of meek- 
ness. If on the other hand we are conceited, and think 
we have a right to come, putting ourselves on an equal- 
ity with God, we shall get nothing. 

"WORTHINESS." 

In the Gospel by Luke we read of the centurion who 
had a sick servant. He felt as though he were not 
worthy to go himself and ask Christ to come to his 
house ; so he asked some of his friends to beseech the 
Master to come and heal his servant. They went and 
delivered the centurion's message, saying, " He is 
worthy for whom Thou shouldst do this : for he loveth 
our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue." The Jews 
could not understand grace ; so they thought Christ 
would grant the request of this man, because he was 
worthy. " Why," they said, " he hath built us a syna- 
gogue ! " It is the same old story that we hear to-day. 
Let a man give a few thousand dollars to build a church 



GRACE ABOUNDING. 35 

and he must have the best pew; "he is worthy." Per- 
haps he made his money by selling or making strong 
drink; but he has put the Church under an obligation 
by this gift of money, and he is considered " worthy." 
The same spirit was at work in the days of Christ. 

The Master immediately started for the centurion's 
house ; and it looked as though He were going because 
of his personal worthiness. But if He had done so, it 
would have upset the whole story as an illustration of 
grace. As the Saviour was on the way, out came the 
Roman officer himself and told Jesus that he was not 
worthy to receive Him under his roof. He had a very 
different opinion of himself to that of his Jewish friends. 
Suppose he had said, " Lord, you will be my guest ; 
come and heal my servant because I am worthy : I have 
built a synagogue." Do you think Christ would have 
gone ? I do not think he would. But he said, " I am 
not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof. 
Neither thought I myself worthy to come unto Thee ; 
but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed." 

Jesus marveled at the man's faith. It pleased Him 
wonderfully to find such faith and humility. Like the 
Syro-Phenician woman, he had low thoughts of himself, 
and high thoughts of God : therefore he was in a con- 
dition to receive the grace of God. His servant, we 
we are told, was healed that very hour. His pe- 
tition was granted at once. Let us learn a lesson 
from this man, and take a humble position before 
God, crying to him for mercy; then help will come. 

GREAT FORGIVENESS. 

I never noticed till lately an interesting fact about 



36 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

the story of the poor sinful woman mentioned in Luke's 
Gospel, who went into Simon's house. If you have not 
observed it before, it will be quite interesting for you 
to know it. The incident occurred immediately after 
Christ had uttered those memorable words we read in 
Matthew : " Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are 
heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew closes 
the narrative there ; but in the seventh chapter of Luke 
you will find what the result of that invitation was. A 
poor fallen woman came into the house where He was, 
and obtained the blessing of rest to her soul. I think 
that many ministers will bear me out in this statement, 
that when one has preached to a large congregation, 
and has given an invitation to those who would like to 
remain and talk about salvation, probably the only one 
to do so is a poor fallen one, who will thus become a 
partaker of the grace of God. 

We find that the Saviour was invited to the house of 
Simon, a Pharisee. While he was there, this poor sin- 
ful woman crept into the house. Perhaps she watched 
for a chance when the servants were away from the 
door, and then slipped into the room where the Master 
was. She got down on her knees, and began to wash 
his feet with her tears, wiping them with the hairs of 
her head. W'hile the feast was going on the Pharisee 
saw this ; and he said to himself : " Jesus must be a bad 
man, if He knows who this poor woman is. Even if He 
did not know, He would be unclean according to the 
Mosaic law" — because he had allowed the woman to 
touch Him. But the Master knew what Simon was 
thinking about. He put some questions to him : "And 
Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat 



GRACE ABOUNDING. 37 

to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. There 
was a certain creditor which had two debtors : the one 
owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And 
when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them 
both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him 
most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to 
whom he forgave most. And He said unto him, Thou 
hast rightly judged." 

Then He makes the application, " I came to your 
house," He says, "and you gave me no water for my 
feet; you gave me no kiss; and no oil for my head. 
You refused me the common hospitalities of life." In 
those days when one went into a gentleman's house, a 
servant would be at the door with a basin of water; the 
guest would slip off his sandals, and the servant would 
wash his feet. Then the master of the house would 
salute him with a kiss instead of shaking hands as we 
do. There would also be oil for his head. Christ had 
been invited to Simon's house ; but the Pharisee had 
got Him there in a patronizing spirit. "You gave me 
no water, no kiss, no oil ; but this woman hath washed 
my feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hairs 
of her head : she hath not ceased to kiss my feet, and 
she hath anointed them with ointment. She was for- 
given much: and so she loves much." To the poor 
woman herself Jesus said, "Thy sins are forgiven." 
They may have risen up like a dark mountain before 
her; but one word from the Saviour — and they were 
all gone ! 

The spirit shown by Simon was altogether different 
from that of the poor woman. Christ said that the 
publicans and harlots would go into the kino-dom of 



33 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

God before the self-righteous Pharisees! Simon, the 
Pharisee, got nothing ; and so there are many who go 
away from religious meetings without one drop of 
heaven's dew, because they do not seek for it. From 
the morning of the creation down to the present time 
no man or woman ever went to God with a broken 
heart without experiencing the forgiving love and grace 
of God, if they believed His Word.' It was so with this 
poor woman. Notice, the Master did not extract any 
pledge or promise from her. He did not ask her to 
join some synagogue; all He said was, " Thy sins are 
forgiven thee." She found grace. So it was with the 
Syro-Phenician woman. Christ did not ask any pledge 
from her; He met her in grace, and blessed her accord- 
ing to her soul's desire. 

You know what touched the heart of the father of 
the prodigal ; it was the broken and contrite spirit of 
his returning son. Would not the same thing move the 
heart of any parent here? Suppose you had a son who 
had gone astray : the boy comes home ; and when you 
meet him he begins to confess his sin. Would you not 
take him to your bosom and forgive him? Nothing in 
the wide world would you more readily do than forgive 
him. So if we come to God with this contrite spirit, 
He will deal in grace with us and receive us freely, 
When Saul left Jerusalem, there was nothing he wished 
for less than to receive the grace of God. Yet the 
moment he said, " Lord, what wilt Thou have me to 
do?" the forgiving grace of the Master flowed out 
towards him. We are told by Matthew and Mark that 
the thief on the cross, who was converted, railed on the 
Saviour at first like the other : but the moment his heart 



GRACE ABOUNDING. 39 

was broken down and he said, " Lord, remember me!" 
that very moment Christ heard and answered his prayer. 
God is waiting to cover all your sins to-day ; He has a 
long and a strong arm that can reach down to the 
darkest, vilest, deepest depths of sin. He will lift you 
up on a rock, and put a new song into your mouth. 
Will you let him do it ? 

A man was telling me some time ago that he had 
prayed for over ten years that God would have mercy 
upon him. " Has not God answered your prayer?" 
" No." " Indeed ! Let me ask you one question : sup- 
pose I offered you that Bible as a gift, and you were 
afterwards to come and ask me for it ; what would I 
think of you ? " "I do not know what you would think." 
"Well, but what do you suppose I would think ? " " You 
would perhaps think I had gone a little wrong in my 
head." " What is the use of your asking that God would 
deal in grace with you, if you are not willing to 
receive it ; or if you do not believe that He gives it 
to you?" 

When I was on the Pacific coast some years ago, I 
stayed with a friend who had a large garden, with a 
great many orange trees. He said to me : " Make your- 
self perfectly at home ; if you see anything you want 
just help yourself." When I wanted some oranges, I 
did not go into the garden and pray to the oranges to 
tumble into my mouth ; I just put out my hand and 
took all I required. So it is with us. Why should we 
go on asking and beseeching God to have mercy upon 
us, when He has already given His Son, and given His 
Holy Spirit? What we need is to have a broken and 
a contrite heart, and to be willing to receive Him. The 



40 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

trouble with us is that we have locked the doors of our 
hearts against Him. 

There is a story that Dr. Arnot was accustomed to 
tell of a poor woman who was in great distress because 
she could not pay her landlord his rent. The Doctor 
put some money in his pocket and went round to her 
house intending to help her. When he got there he 
knocked at the door. He thought he heard some 
movement inside ; but no one came to open the door. 
He knocked louder and louder still; but yet no one 
came. Finally he kicked at the door, causing some of 
the neighbors to look out and see what was going on. 
But he could get no entrance ; and at last he went away 
thinking his ears must have deceived him, and that 
there was really no one there. A day or two afterwards 
he met the woman in the street, and told her what had 
happened. She held up her hands and exclaimed, 
" Was that you? I was in the house all the while; but 
I thought it was the landlord, and I had the door 
locked ! " 

Many people are keeping the door of their heart 
locked against the Saviour in just the same way. They 
say " I am afraid I shall have to give up so much." 
That is something like a ragged beggar being unwilling 
to give up his rags, in order to get a new suit of good 
clothes. I pity those people who are all the time look- 
ing to see what they will have to give up. God wants 
to bestow His marvelous grace on His people; and 
there is not a soul who has believed on Jesus, for whom 
God has not abundance of grace in store. What would 
you say of a man dying of thirst on the banks of a beau- 
tiful river, with the stream flowing past his feet ? You 



GRACE ABOUNDING. 41 

would think he was mad ! The river of God's grace 
flows on without ceasing ; why should we not partake 
of it, and go on our way rejoicing? 

Do you say you are sinners? It is just to such as 
you that God's grace is given. There was a sailor whose 
mother had long been praying for him. I do think 
mothers' prayers are sure to be answered some day. One 
night the memory of his mother came home to this man ; 
he thought of the days of his childhood, and made up 
his mind he would try and lead a different life. When 
he got to New York he thought he would join the Odd- 
fellows ; he imagined that would be a good way to 
begin. What miserable mistakes men make when they 
get trying to save themselves ! This man applied to a 
lodge of Odd-fellows for admission ; but the committee 
found that he was a drinking man, and so they black- 
balled him. Then he thought he would try the Free- 
masons ; they discovered what sort of a man he was, and 
they black-balled him too. One day he was walking 
along Fulton Street, when he received an invitation to 
come to the daily prayer-meeting held there. He went 
in, and heard about the Saviour; he received Christ into 
his heart, and found the peace and power he wanted. 
Some days after he stood up in the meeting and told 
the story — how the Odd-fellows had black-balled him ; 
how the Freemasons had black-balled him ; and how 
he came to the Lord Jesus Christ, who had not black- 
balled him, but took him right in. That is what Christ 
will do to every poor penitent sinner. " This Man re- 
ceiveth sinners." Come to Him to-day, and He will 
receive you : His marvelous, sovereign grace will cover 
and put away all your sins. 



42 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

I am so glad that we have a Saviour who can save 
unto the very uttermost. He can save the drunkard, the 
man who for years has been the slave of his passions. I 
was talking to a friend not long ago, who said that if a 
man had a father and a mother who were drunkards, 
he would inherit the taste for drink, and that there was 
not much chance of saving him. I want to say that 
there is a grand chance for such men, if they will call 
upon Jesus Christ to save them. He is able to de- 
stroy the very appetite for drink. He came to de- 
stroy the works of the devil ; and if this appetite for 
gin and whiskey is not the work of the devil, I want 
to know what is. I do not know any more terrible 
agency that the devil has got than this intoxicating 
liquor. 

An Englishman went out from England to Chicago, 
and became one of the greatest drunkards in that city. 
His father and his mother were drunkards before him. 
He said that when he was four years old, his father took 
him into a public-house, and put the liqour to his lips. 
By and by he got a taste for it ; and for several years 
he was a confirmed drunkard. He became what in 
America we call a " tramp." He slept out of doors. 
One night, on the shore of a lake, he awoke from his 
slumber, and began to call upon God to save him. There, 
at the midnight hour, this poor, wretched, forlorn object 
got victory over his sin. The last time I met him he 
had been nine-and-a-half years a sober man. From 
that memorable midnight hour, he said, he had never 
had any desire to touch or taste strong drink. God had 
kept him all those years. I am so thankful we have 
a Gospel that we can carry into the home of the drunk- 



GRACE ABOUNDING. 43 

ard, and tell him that Christ will save him. That is the 
very thing He came to do. 

Bunyan represents the power of grace, as shown by 
its first offer to the Jerusalem sinners, the murderers of 
Christ, thus: *' Repent, every one of you : be baptized, 
every one of you, in His name, for the remission of 
sins; and you shall, every one of you, receive the Holy 
Ghost.'' 

" But I was one of those who plotted to take away 
His life. May I be saved by Him?" 

" Every one of you." 

" But I was one of those who bore false witness 
against Him. Is there grace for me?" 

" For every one of you." 

' ( But I was one of those who cried out, Crucify 
Him! crucify Him! and who desired that Barrabas, 
the murderer, might live, rather than He. What will 
become of me, think you?" 

" I am to preach repentance and remission of sins TO 
EVERY ONE OF YOU." 

" But I was one of those who did spit in His face 
when He stood before His accusers ; I also was one 
that mocked Him when, in anguish, He hung bleeding 
on the tree. Is there room for me " 

" For every one of you." 

" But I was one of those who, in His extremity, 
said, Give Him gall and vinegar to drink ! Why may I 
not expect the same when pain and anguish are upon 
me?" 

" Repent of these thy wickednesses ; and here is re- 
mission of sins for every one of you." 

" But I railed on Him ; I reviled Him ; I hated Him ; 



44 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

I rejoiced to see Him mocked at by others. Can there 
be hope for me ? " 

" There is ; FOR EVERY ONE OF YOU." 

Oh, what a blessed " Every-ONE-OF-YOU " is here !' 
How willing was Peter — and the Lord Jesus by the 
ministry of Peter — to catch these murderers with the 
word of the Gospel, that they might be monuments of 
the grace of God ! 

Now it is a solemn fact that every one who receives 
the offer of the Gospel can lock and bolt the door of 
his heart, and say to the Lord Jesus Christ he refuses to 
let Him in. But it is also a blessed truth that you can 
unlock that door and say to Him, " Welcome ! thrice 
welcome, Son of God, into this heart of mine ! " The 
question is: Will you let Christ come in and save you ? 
It is not a question of whether He is able. Who will 
open their hearts, and let the Saviour come in? 

" There's a stranger at the door: 

Let Him in! 
He has been there oft before: 

Let Him in! 
Let Him in, ere He is gone; 
Let Him in, the Holy One, 
Jesus Christ, the Father's Son: 

Let Him in! 

" Open now to Him jour heart: 

Let Him in! 
If you wait He will depart: 

Let Him in! 
Let Him in, He is your Friend; 
He your soul will sure defend; 
He will keep you to the end: 

Let Him in! 



6 GRACE ABOUNDING. 45 

" Hear you now His loving voice ? 

Let Him in! 
Now, oh now, make Him jour choice: 

Let Him in! 
He is standing at the door; 
Joy to you He will restore, 
And His name you will adore: 

Let Him in! 

" Now admit the heavenly Guest. 
Let Him in ! 
He will make for you a feast: 

Let Him in! 
He will speak your sins forgiven, 
And when earth-ties all are riven, 
He will take you home to heaven, 
Let Him in! " 

Rev, J. B. Atckinson, 




CHAPTER V. 

LAW AND GRACE. 

his Epistle to the Romans, Paul writes : 
,! For as by one man's disobedience many 
were made sinners, so by the obedience of 
One shall many be made righteous. More- 
over, the law entered that the offense might abound. 
But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound : 
that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace 
reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus 
Christ our Lord. ' 

Moses was the representative of the law. You re- 
member that he led the children of Israel through the 
wilderness, and brought them to Jordan , but there he 
left them. He could take them up to the river, which 
is a type of death and judgment ; but Joshua (which 
means Jesus — Saviour) led them right through death 
and judgment — through the Jordan into the Promised 
Land. Here we have the difference between Law and 
Grace ; between the Law and the Gospel. 

Take another illustration. John the Baptist was the 
last prophet of the old dispensation — the last prophet 
under the law. You remember that before Christ 
made His appearance at the Jordan, the cry of John, 
day by day was, " Repent ,: for the kingdom of God is 
at hand! " He thundered out the law. He took his 

(46) 



LAW AND GRACE. 47 

hearers down to the Jordan and baptized them. He 
put them in the place of death ; and that was as far as 
he could take them. But there was One coming after 
him who could take them into the Promised Land. As 
Joshua led the people through the Jordan into Canaan, 
— so Christ went down into the Jordan of death, 
through death and judgment, on to resurrection ground. 

If you run all through Scripture you will find 
that the law brings to death. " Sin reigned unto death." 
A friend was telling me lately that an acquaintance of 
his, a minister, was once called upon to officiate at a 
funeral, in the place of a chaplain of one of Her Maj- 
esty's prisons, who was absent. He noticed that only 
one solitary man followed the body of the criminal to 
the grave. When the grave had been covered, this 
man told the minister that he was an officer of the law 
whose duty it was to watch the body of the culprit 
until it was buried out of sight; that was "the end" 
of the British law. 

And that is what the law of God does to the sinner ; 
it brings him right to death, and leaves him there. I 
pity deep down in my heart those who are trying to 
save themselves by the law. It never has; it never 
will ; and it never can — save the soul. When people 
say they are going to try and do their best, and so save 
themselves by the law, I like to take them on their 
own ground. Have they ever done their very best ? 
granting that there might be a chance for them if they 
had, was there ever a time when they could not have 
done a little better? If a man wants to do his best, 
let him accept the grace of God ; that is the best thing 
that any man or woman can possibly do. 



48 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

But you will ask, What is the law given for? It 
may sound rather strange, but it is given that it may 
stop every man's mouth. " We know that what things 
soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under 
the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the 
world may become guilty before God. Therefore by 
the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in 
His sight ; for by the law is the knowledge of sin." 
The law shuts my mouth ; grace opens it. The law 
locks up my heart ; grace opens it — and then the foun- 
tain of love begins to flow out. When men get their 
eyes opened to see this glorious truth, they will cease 
their constant struggle. They will give up trying to 
work their way into the kingdom of God by the deeds 
of the law. They will give themselves up for lost, and 
take salvation as a free gift. 

Life never came through the law. As some one has 
observed : When the law was given, three thousand 
men lost life ; but when grace and truth came at Pente- 
cost, three thousand obtained life. Under the law, if a 
man became a drunkard the magistrates would take 
him out and stone him to death. When the prodigal 
came home, grace met him and embraced him. Law 
says, Stone him ! — grace says, Embrace him ! Law 
says, Smite him ! — grace says, Kiss him ! Law went 
after him, and bound him ; grace said, loose him and 
let him go ! Law tells me how crooked I am ; grace 
comes and makes me straight. 

I pity those who are always hanging around Sinai, 
hoping to get life there. I have an old friend in Chi- 
cago who is always lingering at Sinai. He is a very 



LAW AND GRACE. 49 

good man ; but I think he will have a different story to 
tell when he gets home to heaven. He thinks I preach 
free grace too much ; and I must confess I do like to 
speak of the free grace of God. This friend of mine 
feels as though he has a kind of mission to follow me ; 
and whenever he gets a chance he comes in with the 
thunders of Sinai. I never yet met him but he was thun- 
dering away from Horeb. The last time I was in Chi- 
cago, I said to him, "Are you still lingering around 
Sinai?" " Yes," said he, " I believe in the law." I have 
made inquiries, and I never heard of any one being con- 
verted under his preaching : the effects have always dwin- 
dled and died out. If the law is the door to heaven, there 
is no hope for any of us. A perfect God can only have 
a perfect standard. He that offends in one point is 
guilty of all : so " all have sinned and come short of 
the glory of God." 

Paul says to the Galatians : " Is the law then against 
the promises of God ? God forbid : for if there had 
been a law given which could have given life, verily 
righteousness should have been by the law. But the 
Scripture hath concluded all under sin that the prom- 
ise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them 
that believe. But before faith came, we were kept 
under the law, shut up unto the faith which should 
afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was 
our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we 
might be justified by faith. But after that faith 
is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Jesus 
Christ, 



50 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

THE SOFTENING POWER OF GRACE. 

So we see that the law cannot give life; all it can do 
is to bring us to Him who is the life. The law is said 
to be " a schoolmaster." Perhaps some of you do not 
know what a schoolmaster is. If you bad been under 
the same schoolmaster as I was when a boy you would 
have known. He had a good cane and it was fre- 
quently in use. In the little country district where I 
went to school, there were two parties: for the sake 
of illustration we may call the one the " law " party 
and the other the " grace " party. The law party said 
that boys could not possibly be controlled without the 
cane : and they kept a schoolmaster there who acted 
on their plan. The struggle went on, and at last, on 
one election day, the law party was put out, and the 
grace party ruled in their stead. I happened to be at 
the school at that time ; and I remember we said to 
each other that we were going to have a grand time 
that winter. There would be no more corporal pun- 
ishment, and we were going to be ruled by love. 

I was one of the first to break the rules of the school. 
We had a lady teacher, and she asked me to stay be- 
hind. I thought the cane was coming out again ; and 
I was going to protest against it. I was quite in a 
fighting mood. She took me alone. She sat down 
and began to talk to me kindly. I thought that was 
worse than the cane ; I did not like it. I saw that she 
had not got any cane. She said : " I have made up 
my mind that if I cannot control the school by love, I 
will give it up. I will have no punishment ; and if you 
love me, try and keep the rules of the school." I felt 
something right here in my throat. I was not one to 



LAW AND GRACE. 51 



shed many tears ; but they would come — I could not 
keep them back. I said to her, " You will have no 
more trouble with me ; " and she did not. I learned 
more that winter than in the other three put together. 
That was the difference between law and grace. 
Christ says, " If you love Me, keep My command- 
ments." He takes us out from under the law, and puts 
us under grace. Grace will break the hardest heart. 
It was the love of God that prompted Him to send 
His only-begotten Son into the world that He might 
save it. I suppose the thief had gone through his 
trial unsoftened. Probably the law had hardened his 
heart. But on the cross no doubt that touching 
prayer of the Saviour, "Father, forgive them ! ' ; broke 
his heart, so that he cried, " Lord, remember me ! " He 
was brought to ask for mercy. I believe there is no 
man so far gone but the grace of God will melt his 
heart. 

It is told of Isaac T. Hopper, the Quaker, that he 
once encountered a profane colored man, named Cain, 
in Philadelphia, and took him before a magistrate, who 
fined him for blasphemy. Twenty years after, Hopper 
met Cain, whose appearance was much changed for the 
worse. This touched the Friend's heart. He stepped 
up, spoke kindly, and shook hands with the forlorn 
being. " Dost thou remember me," said the Quaker, 
"how I had thee fined for swearing?" 

" Yes, indeed, I do : I remember what I paid as well 
as if it was yesterday." 

" Well, did it do thee any good ? " 

" No, never a bit : it made me mad to have my 
money taken from me." 



52 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

Hopper invited Cain to reckon up the interest on 
the fine, and paid him principal and interest too. " I 
meant it for thy good, Cain ; and I am sorry I did thee 
any harm." 

Cain's countenance changed ; the tears rolled down 
his cheeks. He took the money with many thanks, 
became a quiet man, and was not heard to swear 
again. 

PEACE, GRACE AND GLORY. 

So there is a great deal of difference between law and 
grace. " Being justified by faith we have peace with 
God through our Lord Jesus Christ ; by whom also we 
have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, 
and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." There are 
three precious things here : peace for the past ; grace 
for the present ; and glory for the future. There is no 
PEACE until we see the finished work of Jesus Christ — 
until we can lookback and see the Cross of Christ be- 
tween us and our sins. When we see that Jesus was 
"the end of the law for righteousness;" that He 
" tasted death for every man ;" that He " suffered the 
Just for the unjust " — then comes peace. Then there 
is " the GRACE wherein we now stand." There is 
plenty of grace for us as we need it — day by day, and 
hour by hour. 

Then there is GLORY for the time to come. A great 
many people seem to forget that the best is before us. 
Dr. Bonar says that everything before the true believer 
is " glorious." This thought took hold of my soul; 
and I began to look the matter up, and see what I 
could find in Scripture that was glorious hereafter. I 



LAW AND GRACE. 53 

found that the kingdom we are going to inherit is glo- 
rious : our crown is to be a " crown of glory ; " the city 
we are going to inhabit is the city of the glorified ; the 
songs we are to sing are the songs of the glorified ; we 
are to wear garments of " glory and beauty ; " our so- 
ciety will be the society of the glorified ; our rest is to 
be " glorious ; " the country to which we are going is 
to be full of "the glory of God and of the Lamb." 
There are many who are always looking on the backward 
path, and mourning over the troubles through which 
they have passed ; they keep lugging up the cares and 
anxieties they have been called on to bear, and are for- 
ever looking at them. Why should we go reeling and 
staggering under the burdens and cares of life when we 
have such prospects before us ? 

If there is nothing but glory beyond, our faces ought 
to shine brightly all the time. If a skeptic were to 
come up here and watch the countenances of the audi- 
ence he would find many of you looking as though 
there was anything but glory before you. Many a 
time it seems to me as if I were at a funeral, people 
look so sad and downcast. They do not appear to know 
much of the joy of the Lord. Surely if we were looking 
right on to the glory that awaits us, our faces would be 
continually lit up with the light of the upper world. 
We can preach by our countenances if we will. The 
nearer we draw to that glory-land, where we shall be 
with Christ — the more peace, and joy, and rest we 
ought to have. If we will but come to the throne of 
grace, we shall have strength to bear all our troubles 
and trials. If you were to take all the afflictions that 
flesh is heir to and put them right on any one of us, 



54 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

God has grace enough to carry us right through with- 
out faltering. 

Some one has compiled the following, which beauti- 
fully describes the contrast between law and grace : 

The Law was given by Moses. 
Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 
The Law says — This do, and thou shalt live. 
Grace says — Live, and then thou shalt do. 

The Law says — Pay me that thou owest. 
GRACE says — I frankly forgive thee all. 

The Law says — The wages of sin is death. 
Grace says — The gift of God is eternal life. 

The Law says — The soul that sinneth, it shall die. 

Grace says — Whosoever believeth in Jesus, though 
he were dead, yet shall he live ; and whosoever 
liveth and believeth in Him shall never die. 

The Law pnonounces — Condemnation and death. 
Grace proclaims — Justification and life. 

The Law says — Make you a new heart and a new 
spirit. 

Grace says — A new heart will I give you, and a new 
spirit will I put within you. 

The Law says — Cursed is every one that continueth 
not in all things which are written in the book 
of the law to do them. 

GRACE says — Blessed is the man whose iniquities are 
forgiven, whose sin is covered ; blessed is the 
man to whom the Lord will not impute in- 
iquity. 



LAW AND GRACE. 55 

THE Law says — Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 
with all thy heart, and with all thy mind, and 
with all thy strength. 

Grace says — Herein is love : not that we love God, 
but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be 
the propitiation for our sins. 

The Law speaks of what man must do for God. 
GRACE tells of what Christ has done for man. 

The Law addresses man as part of the old creation. 
Grace makes a man a member of the new creation. 

The Law bears on a nature prone to disobedience. 
GRACE creates a nature inclined to obedience. 

The Law demands obedience by the terror of the 

Lord. 
Grace beseeches men by the mercies of God. 

The Law demands holiness. 
GRACE gives holiness. 

The Law says — Condemn him. 

Grace says — Embrace him. 

The Law speaks of priestly sacrifices offered year 

by year continually, which could never make the 

comers thereunto perfect. 

Grace says — But this Man, after he had offered one 
sacrifice for sins forever ... by one offer- 
ing hath perfected forever them that are sanc- 
tified. 

The Law declares — That as many as have sinned 
in the Law, shall be judged by the Law. 



56 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

Grace brings eternal peace to the troubled soul of 
every child of God, and proclaims God's salvation 
in defiance of the accusations of the adversary. 
" He that heareth My word, and believeth on 
Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and 
shall not come into judgment (condemnation), 
but is passed from death unto life." 

" Whence to me this tranquil spirit — 
Me all sinful as I am ? 
Is it thus descends the merit 
Of the sin-atoning Lamb ? 
Grace, all power to deliver, 
Gift of a Creative Giver, 
Like a full, refreshing river, 

Ever flowing. 

" Over all my course of sinning 

Spread its waters without bound, 
Cleansing, fertilizing, winning 

For the Lord the barren ground. 
Lavish from the heavenly treasure, 
Fountains of a Father's pleasure, 
All the marks of human measure 
Overflowing. 

" Not my virtue or repenting 

Earned the precious boon for me. 
Thine, my Saviour, the relenting, 

Thine the pangs which set me free — 
Gift of grace beyond all knowing, 
From the heart of Jesus flowing, 
Ever flowing, overflowing, 

Flowing freely." 




CHAPTER VI. 

GRACE FOR LIVING. 

OW we come to a very important part of 
our subject — Grace for living. One of the 
saddest things in the present day is the 
fact that so many professed Christians 
have no spiritual power. They bear no testimony for 
Christ. There are so few who can go to the homes of 
the sick and read the Bible to them, pray with them, 
and minister comfort to their souls. How few can go 
to the abode of the drunkard, and tell him of Christ's 
power to save I How few there are who are wise in 
winning souls to Christ ! 

It is the low spiritual state of so many in the 
Church of Christ that is the trouble. We are not liv- 
ing up to our privileges. As you go through the 
streets of London you will see here and there the 
words, " Limited Company." There are many Chris- 
tians who practically limit the grace of God. It is like 
a river flowing by ; and we can have all we need : but 
if we do not come and get a continual supply, we can- 
not give it out to others. 

Mother ! father ! are you not longing to see your 
children won to Christ ? What is the trouble ? Is it 
the fault of the minister? I believe that though min- 
isters were to preach like angels, if there is a low 

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58 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

standard of Christian life in the home, there will be 
little accomplished. What we want, more than any- 
thing else, is more grace in our lives, in our business 
affairs, in our homes, in our daily walk and conversa- 
tion. I cannot but believe that the reason of the 
standard of Christian life being so low, is that we are 
living on stale manna. You know what I mean by 
that. So many people are living on their past experi- 
ence — thinking of the grand times they had twenty 
years ago, perhaps when they were converted. It is a 
sure sign that we are out of communion with God if 
we are talking more of the joy, and peace, and power, 
we had in the past, than of what we have to-day. We 
are told to " grow in grace ; " but a great many are 
growing the wrong way. 

You remember the Israelites used to gather the 
manna fresh every day : they were not allowed to store 
it up. There is a lesson here for us Christians. If we 
would be strong and vigorous, we must go to God daily 
and get grace. A man can no more take in a supply of 
grace for the future than he can eat enough to-day to 
last him for the next six months; or take sufficient air 
into his lungs at once to sustain life for a week to come. 
We must draw upon God's boundless stores of grace 
from day to day, as we need it. 

I knew a man who lived on the banks of Lake Erie. 
He had pipes laid to his house from the lake ; and when 
he wanted water, all he had to do was to turn the tap 
and the water flowed in. If the Government had pre- 
sented him with the lake, he would not have known 
what to do with it. So we may say that if God were 
to give us grace enough for a lifetime, we should not 



GRACE FOR LIVING. 50 

know how to use it. He has given us the privilege of 
drawing on Him day by day — not " forty days after 
sight." There is plenty of grace in the bank of heaven ; 
we need not be afraid of its becoming exhausted. 

We are asked to come boldly to the throne of grace 
— as sons to a father — that we may find grace. You 
have noticed that a son is very much more bold in his 
father's house than if he were simply a servant. A 
good many Christians are like servants. If you go into 
a house, you can soon tell the difference between the 
family and the servants. A son comes home in the 
evening; he goes all over the house — perhaps talks 
about the letters that have come in, and wants to know 
all that has been going on in the family during his ab- 
sence. It is very different with a servant, who perhaps 
does not leave the kitchen or the servants' hall all day 
except when duty requires it. 

Suppose some one had paid a million dollars into the 
bank in your name, and had given you a check-book 
so that you could draw out just as you wanted : would 
you go to work and try to live on ten dollars a month? 
Yet that is exactly what many of us are doing as Chris- 
tians. I believe this low standard of Christian life in 
the Church is doing more to manufacture infidels than 
all the skeptical books that were ever written. 

Hear what the Apostle says: "My God shall supply 
all your need." Look at these words carefully. It 
does not say He will supply all your wants. There are 
many things we want that God has not promised to 
give. It is "your need" and "all your need." My 
children often want many things they do not get ; but 
I supply all they need, if it is in my power to give it to 



60 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

them. I do not supply all their wants by any means. 
My boy would probably want to have me give him a 
horse ; when I know that what he really needs, perhaps, 
is grace to control his temper. Our children might 
want many things that it would be injurious for them 
to have. And so, though God may withhold from us 
many things that we desire, He will supply all our 
need. There can come upon us no trouble or trial in 
this life, but God has grace enough to carry us right 
through it, if we will only go to Him and get it. But 
we must ask for it day by day. "As thy days, so shall 
thy strength be." 

I met a man once in Scotland who taught me a les- 
son that I shall never forget. A Christian friend wanted 
me to go and have a talk with him. He had been bed- 
ridden for many years. This afflicted saint comforted 
me and told me some wonderful things. He had fallen 
and broken his back when he was about fifteen years of 
age, and had lain there on his bed for some forty years. 
He could not be moved without a good deal of pain, 
and probably not a day has passed all those years with- 
out suffering. If any one had told him he was going 
to lie there and suffer for forty years, probably he 
would have said he could not do it. But day after day 
the grace of God has been granted to him ; and I de- 
clare to you it seemed to me as if I were in the presence 
of one of God's most highly-favored children. It 
seemed that when I was in that man's chamber, I was 
about as near heaven as I could get on this earth. Talk 
about a man's face shining with the glory of the upper 
world ! I very seldom see a face that shines as did his. 
I can imagine that the very angels when they are pass- 



GRACE FOR LIVING. 61 

ing over the city on some mission of mercy, come 
down into that man's chamber to get refreshed. There 
he has been lying all these years, not only without a 
murmur, but rejoicing all the while. 

I said to him : " My friend, does the devil never 
tempt you to doubt God, and to think He is a hard 
master?" "Well now," he said, "that is just what he 
tries to do. Sometimes, as I look out of the window 
and see people walking along in health, Satan whispers : 
" If God is so good, why does He keep you here all 
these weary years? Why, if He loved you, instead of 
lying here and being dependent on others, you might 
now have been a rich man, and riding in your own car- 
riage." "What do you do when the devil tempts 
you?" "Oh, I just take him up to the Cross; and he 
had such a fright there eighteen hundred years ago, that 
he cannot stand it ; and he leaves me." I do not think 
that bedridden saint has much trouble with doubts ; he 
is so full of grace. 

And so if we will only come boldly to God, we shall 
get all the help and strength we need. There is not a 
man or woman alive but may be kept from falling, if 
they will let God hold them up in His almighty arms. 

There is a story in the history of Elisha the prophet 
that I am very fond of; most of you are familiar with 
it. Sometimes we meet with people who hesitate to 
accept Christ, because they are so afraid they will not 
hold out. You remember there was a young prophet 
who died and left a widow with two little boys. It has 
been said that misfortunes do not come singly, but in 
battalions. This woman had not only lost her husband, 
but a creditor was going to take, her boys and sell them 



62 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

into slavery. That was a common thing in those days. 
The widow went and told Elisha all about it. He asked 
her what she had in the house. Nothing, she said, but 
a pot of oil. It was a very hard case. 

Elisha told her to go home and borrow all the vessels 
she could. His command was: " Borrow not a few." 
I like that. She took him at his word, and borrowed 
all the vessels her neighbors would lend to her. I can 
imagine I see the woman and her two sons going from 
house to house asking the loan of their vessels. No 
doubt there were a good many of the neighbors who 
were stretching their necks, and wondering what it all 
meant ; just as we sometimes find people coming into 
the inquiry-room to see what is going on. If this 
woman had been like some modern skeptics, she would 
have thought it very absurd for the prophet to bid her 
do such a thing ; she would have asked what good could 
come of it. But faith asks no questions: so she went 
and did what the man of God told her to do. I can see 
her going up one side of the street knocking at every 
door and asking for empty vessels. " How many do 
you want?" "All you can spare." There are the two 
sons carrying the great vessels ; some of them perhaps 
nearly as large as the boys themselves. It was hard 
work. When they had finished one side of the street, 
they went down the other. " Borrow not a few," she 
had been told ; so she went on asking for as many as 
she could get. If there were as much gossip in those 
days as there is now, all the people in the street would 
have been talking about her. Why, this woman and 
her boys have been carrying vessels into the house all 
day; what can be the matter? 



GRACE FOR LIVING 63 

But now they have all the vessels the neighbors 
would lend. She locks the door ; and she says to one 
of the boys, " James, you are the younger; bring me 
the empty vessels. John, you are the stronger ; when 
I have filled them you take them away." So she began 
to pour. Perhaps the first vessel was twice as big as 
the one she poured from ; but it was soon filled : and 
she kept on pouring into vessel after vessel. At last her 
son says, " Mother, this is the last one;" and we are 
told that the oil was not stayed till the last vessel was 
full. 

Dear friends, bring your empty vessels ; and God will 
fill them. I venture to say that the eyes of those boys 
sparkled as they saw this beautiful oil, fresh from the 
hand of the Creator. The woman went and told the 
man of God what had happened ; he said to her, " Go, 
sell the oil, and pay thy debt ; and live thou and thy 
children off the rest." That is grace for the present, 
and for the future. "As thy days so shall thy strength 
be." You will have grace not only to cover all your 
sins, but to carry you right into glory. Let the grace 
of God into your heart ; and He will bring you safely 
through. 

Let me close by quoting the words of an old prayer: 
" God give us grace to see our need of grace ; give us 
grace to ask for grace ; give us grace to receive grace ; 
give us grace to use the grace we have received." 

" Grace taught my soul to pray, 
And pardoning love to know; 
'Twas grace that kept me to this day, 
And will not let me go, 



64 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

Grace all the work shall crown, 
Through everlasting days; 

It lays in heaven the topmost stone, 
And well deserves the praise ! " 



CHAPTER VII. 

GRACE FOR SERVICE. 



TMJTt>« ! W > "^£) 




[OR the grace of God that bringeth salvation 
to all men hath appeared ; teaching us that, 
denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we 
should live soberly, righteously, and godly, 
in this present world ; looking for that blessed hope, 
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our 
Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that 
He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto 
Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." 

In this wonderful passage we see grace in a threefold 
aspect : grace that bringeth salvation ; grace for holy 
living; and grace for service. I have had three red-let- 
ter days in my experience : the first was, when I was 
converted ; the next was when I got my lips opened, 
and I began to confess Christ ; the third was, when I 
began to work for the salvation of others. 

I think there are a great many who have got to the 
first stage ; some have got to the second ; very few have 
got to the third. This is the reason, I believe, why 
the world is not reached. 

Many say they are anxious to "grow in grace." I 
do not think they ever will, until they go out into the 
harvest field and begin to work for others. We are not 
going to have the grace we need to qualify us for work, 

(65; 



66 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

until we launch out into the deep, and begin to use the 
abilities and the opportunities we already possess. 
Many fold their arms, and wait for the grace of God to 
come to them ; but we do not get it in that way. 
When we "go forward," then it is that God meets us 
with His grace. 

If Moses had stayed in Horeb unlil he got the grace 
he needed, he never would have started for Egypt at 
all. But when he had set out, God met him in the way 
and blessed him day by day as he needed. Many grow 
discouraged because there is a little opposition ; but if 
we are going to work for God we must expect opposi- 
tion. No real work was ever done for God without op- 
position. If you think that you are going to have the 
approval of a godless world, and of cold Christians, as 
you launch out into the deep with your net, you are 
greatly mistaken. A man said to me some time ago, 
that when he was converted he commenced to do some 
work in connection with the Church ; he was greatly 
discouraged because some of the older Christians threw 
cold water on him, so he gave up the whole thing. 

I pity a man who cannot take a little cold water with- 
out being any the worse for it. Why, many of the 
Christians in old times had to go through the fire, and 
did not shrink from it. A little cold water never hurt/ 
any one. 

Others say they have so many cares and troubles, 
they have as much as they can carry. Well, a good 
way to forget your trouble is — to go and help some one 
else who is carrying a heavier burden than yourself. It 
was when Job began to pray for his friends that he for- 
got his own troubles. Paul gloried in his infirmity, 



GRACE FOR SERVICE. 67 

and in the tribulations he had to undergo, so that the 
power of Christ might all the more rest upon him. He 
gloried in the Cross: and you must bear in mind that 
the Cross was not so easy to bear in his day as it is in 
ours. Every one was speaking against it. " I glory in 
the Cross of Christ," he said. When a man gets to 
that point, do you tell me that God cannot use him to 
build up His kingdom? In his second letter to the 
Corinthians, Paul speaks of " the thorn in the flesh ;" 
he prayed the Lord to take it away. The Lord said 
He was not going to take it away : but He would give 
His servant grace to bear it. So the apostle learned to 
thank God for the thorn, because he got more grace. 
It is when the days are dark that people are brought 
nearer to God. I suppose that is what Paul meant. 

If there is any child of God who has a " thorn in the 
flesh," God has grace enough to help you to bear it if 
you will but go to Him for it. The difficulty is that 
so many are looking at their troubles and sorrows, in- 
stead of looking toward the glorious reward, and press- 
ing on their way by God's help. 

In ii Corinthians 9:8, we read : "God is able to make 
all grace abound towards you ; that ye, always having 
all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good 
work." There are three thoughts here — God makes 
all grace to abound, that we may have all sufficiency in 
all things. I think this is one of the most wonderful 
verses in the Bible. 

There is plenty of grace. Many Christians, if they 
have grace enough to keep them from outward sin, 
seem to be perfectly satisfied ; they do not press on to 
get fullness of grace, so as to be ready for God's work, 



SOVEREIGN GRACE. 



Many are satisfied to go into the stream of grace ankle 
deep, when God wants them to swim in it. 

If we always came to meetings desiring to get 
strength, then we should be able to go out to work and 
speak for Christ. There are a great many who would 
be used of God, if they would only come boldly to His 
throne of grace, and " find grace to help in time of 
need." Is it not a time of need now? God has said, 
" I will pour water on him that is thirsty." Do we 
thirst for a deeper work of grace in our hearts? — for 
the anointing of the Spirit? Here is the promise: "I 
will pour water on him that is thirsty. " Let all who are 
hungering and thirsting for blessing come and receive it. 

Another reason why many Christians do not get any- 
thing is — because they do not give out to others. 
They are satisfied with present attainments, instead of 
growing in grace. We are not the fountain ; we are 
only a channel for the grace of God to flow through. 
There is not one of us but God wants to use in building 
up His kingdom. That little boy, that grey-haired 
man, these young men and maidens ; all are needed : 
and there is a work for all. We want to believe that 
God has grace enough to qualify us to go out and work 
for Him. 

If we have known Jesus Christ for twenty years or 
more, and if we have not been able to introduce an anx- 
ious soul to Him, there has been something wrong some- 
where. If we were full of grace, we should be ready for 
any call that comes to us. Paul said, when he had 
that famous interview with Christ on the way to Da- 
mascus, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do ?" Isaiah 
said, " Here am I, send me." Oh that God would fill 



GRACE FOR SERVICE. G9 

all His people with grace, so that we may see more 
wonderfull things than He has ever permitted us to 
see ! No man can tell what he can do, until he moves 
forward. If we do that in the name of God, instead of 
there being a few scores or hundreds converted, there 
will be thousands flocking into the Kingdom of God. 
Remember, that we honor God when we ask for great 
things. It is a humiliating thing to think that we are 
satisfied with very small results. 

It is said that Alexander the Great had a favorite 
General to whom he had given permission to draw 
upon the royal treasury for any amount. On one 
occasion this General had made a draft for such an 
enormous sum that the Treasurer refused to honor it 
until he consulted the Emperor. So he went into his 
presence and told him what the General had done. 
"Did you not honor the draft?" said the Emperor. 
"No; I refused till I had seen your Majesty; because 
the amount was so great." The Emperor was indig- 
nant. His Treasurer said that he was afraid of offending 
him if he had paid the amount. " Do you not know, " 
replied the Emperor, "that he honors me and my 
kingdom by making a large draft?" Whether the 
story be authentic or not, it is true that we honor God 
when we ask for great things. 

It is said that on one occasion when Caesar gave a 
very valuable present, the receiver replied that it was 
too costly a gift. The Emperor answered that it was 
not too great for Caesar to give. Our God is a great 
King; and He delights to use us: so let us delight to 
ask Him for great grace, that we may go out and work 
for him. 



70 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

I find that many Christians are in trouble about the 
future ; they think they will not have grace enough to 
die by. It is much more important that we should 
have grace enough to live by. It seems to me that 
death is of very little importance in the meantime. 
When the dying hour comes there will be dying grace ; 
but you do not require dying grace to live by. If I 
am going to live perhaps for fifteen or twenty years, 
what do I want with dying grace? I am far more 
anxious about having grace enough for my present 
work. 

I have sometimes been asked if I had grace enough 
to enable me to go to the stake and die as a martyr. No; 
what do I want with martyrs' grace ? I do not like 
suffering ; but if God should call on me to die a martyr's 
death, He would give me martyrs' grace. If I have to 
psss through some great affliction, I know God will 
give me grace when the time comes ; but I do not want 
it till it comes. 

There is a story of a martyr in the second century. 
He was brought before the king, and told that if he 
did not recant they would banish him. Said he, "O 
king, you cannot banish me from Christ ; for He has 
said, " I will never leave thee nor forsake thee !" The 
apostle John was banished to the island of Patmos; but 
it was the best thing that could have happened : for if 
John had not been sent there, probably we should never 
have had that grand Book of Revelation. John could 
not be separated from his Master. 

So it was with this brave martyr, of whom I was 
speaking. The king said to him, "Then I will take 
away your property from you." "You cannot do 



GRACE FOR SERVICE. 71 

that : for my treasure is laid up on high, where you 
cannot get at it." "Then I will kill you." " You can- 
not do that ; for I have been dead these forty years : 
' my life is hid with Christ in God.'" The king said, 
" What are you going to do with such a fanatic as 
that?" 

Let us remember that if we have not grace enough 
for service, we have no one to blame but ourselves. 
We are not straitened in God : He has abundance of 
grace to qualify us to work for Him. 

MORE TO FOLLOW. 

I heard a story about two members of a Church : one 
was a wealthy man, and the other was one of those 
who cannot take care of their finances — he was always 
in debt. The rich brother had compassion on his 
poor brother. He wanted to give him some money ; 
but he would not give it to the man all at once: he 
knew he would not use it properly. So he sent the 
amount to the minister, and asked him to supply the 
needs of this poor brother. The minister used to send 
him a five-dollar bill, and put on the envelope " More 
to follow." I can imagine how welcome the gift would 
be ; but the best of all was the promise — " More to fol- 
low." So it is with God : there is always " more to 
follow." It is such a pity that we are not ready to be 
used by God when He wants to use us. 

Dear friends, let me put this question to you : Are 
you full of grace ? You shake your head. Well, it is 
our privilege to be full. What is the best way to get 
full of grace ? It is to be emptied of self. How can 
we be emptied? Suppose you wish to get the air out 



72 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

of this tumbler; how can you do it? I will tell you: 
by pouring water into the tumbler till it is full to over- 
flowing. That is the way the Lord empties us of self. 
He fills us with His grace. " I will pour water on him 
that is thirsty." Are you hungering to get rid of your 
sinful selves? Then let the Spirit of God come in and 
fill you. God is able to do it. 

See what He did for John Bunyan — how He made 
one of the mightiest instruments for good the world 
ever saw, out of that swearing Bedford tinker. If we 
had a telescope which would enable us to look into 
heaven as Stephen did, I can imagine we should see 
the thief, who believed in Jesus while on the cross, 
very near the throne. Ask him how he got there ; and 
he would tell you it was through the grace of God. See 
how the grace of God could save a Mary Magdalene 
possessed of seven devils ! Ask her what it was that 
melted her heart : and she would tell you that it was 
the grace of God. Look again at that woman whom 
Christ met at the well at Sychar. The Saviour offered 
her a cup of the living water : she drank, and now she 
walks the chrystal pavement of heaven. See how the 
grace of God could change Zaccheus, the hated publican 
of Jericho! Now he is in yonder world of light ; he was 
brought there by the sovereign grace of God. 

You will have noticed that many of those who were 
about the most unlikely, have, by the power of God's 
grace, become very eminent in His service. Look at 
the twelve apostles of Christ ; they were all unlettered 
men. This ought to encourage all whose education is 
limited to give themselves to God's work. When our 
earthly work is ended, then, like our Master, We shall 



GRACE FOR SERVICE 73 

enter into glory. It has been well remarked : " Grace 
is glory militant ; and glory is grace triumphant. Grace 
is glory begun ; glory is grace made perfect. Grace is 
the first degree of glory : glory is the highest degree of 
grace. 

" Oh, to grace how great a debtor 

Daily I'm constrained to be! 
Let Thy grace, Lord, like a fetter, 

Bind my wandering heart to thee. 
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it — 
Prone to leave the God I love — 
Here's my heart, oh take and seal it, 
Seal it for Thy courts above. 




CHAPTER VIII. 

A CHIME OF GOSPEL BELLS. 

N Baltimore, a few years ago, we held a number 

of meetings for men. I am very fond of this 

hymn ; and we used to let the choir sing the 

chorus over and over again, till all could 

sing it. 

" Oh, word of words the sweetest, 

Oh, word in which there lie 
All promise, all fulfillment, 

And end of mystery! 
Lamenting or rejoicing, 

With doubt or terror nigh, 
I hear the "Come!" of Jesus, 

And to His cross I fly. 

Come! oh, come to me! 
Come! oh, come to me! 
Weary heavy-laden, 
Come! oh, come to Me! 

' O soul! why shouldst thou wander 
From such a loving Friend? 
Cling closer, closer to Him, 
Stay with Him to the end 
Alas! I am so helpless, 

So very full of sin; 
For I am ever wandering, 
And coming back again- 
(741 



A CHIME OF GOSPEL BELLS. 75 

" Oh, each time draw me nearer, 
That soon the " Come!" may be 
Nought but a gentle whisper 

To one close, close to Thee; 
Then, over sea and mountain, 

Far from, or near, my home, 
I'll take Thy hand and follow, 
At that sweet whisper, " Come! " 

There was a man in one of the meetings who had 
been brought there against his will ; he had come 
through some personal influence brought to bear upon 
him. When he got to the meeting, they were singing 
the chorus of this hymn — 

" Come ! come ! come !" 

He said afterwards he thought he never saw so many 
fools together in his life before. The idea of a number 
of men standing there singing, " Come ! come ! come ! " 
When he started home he could not get this little word 
out of his head ; it kept coming back all the time. He 
went into a saloon, and ordered some whiskey, thinking 
to drown it. But he could not ; it still kept coming 
back. He went into another saloon, and drank some 
more whiskey ; but the words kept ringing in his ears : 
"Come ! come ! come !" He said to himself, "What a 
fool I am for allowing myself to be troubled in this 
way ! " He went to a third saloon ; had another glass, 
and finally got home. 

He went off to bed, but could not sleep ; it seemed 
as if the very pillow kept whispering the word, " Come ! 
Come ! " He began to be angry with himself : " What 
a fool I was for ever going to that meeting at all ! " 
When he got up he took the little hymn book, found 



76 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

the hymn, and read it over. " What nonsense ! " he 
said to himself ; " the idea of a rational man being dis- 
turbed by that hymn." He set fire to the hymn book; 
but he could not burn up the little word " Come ! " 
" Heaven and earth shall pass away : but My word shall 
not pass away." 

He declared he would never go to another of the 
meetings ; but the next night he came again. When 
he got there, strange to say, they were singing the 
same hymn. " There is that miserable old hymn 
again," he said; "what a fool I am for coming! " I tell 
you, when the Spirit of God lays hold of a man, he 
does a good many things he did not intend to do. To 
make a long story short, that man rose in a meeting of 
young converts, and told the story that I have now told 
you. Pulling out the little hymn book — for he had 
bought another copy — and opening it at this hymn, he 
said : " I think this hymn is the sweetest and the best 
in the English language. God blessed it to the saving 
of my soul." And yet this was the very hymn he had 
despised. 

I want to take up this little word " Come ! " Some- 
times people forget the text of a sermon ; but this text 
will be short enough for any one to remember. Let 
me ring out a chime of Gospel bells, every one of 
which says, " Come! " The first bell I will ring is, 

COME AND HEAR! 

" Incline your ear, and COME unto me ; HEAR, and 
your soul shall live; and I will make an everlast- 
ing covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." 
" Incline your ear," God says. You have sometimes 



A CHIME OF GOSPEL BELLS. 77 

seen a man who is a little deaf, and cannot catch every 

word, put his hand up to his ear and lean forward. I 

have seen a man sometimes put up both hands to his 

ears, as if he were determined to catch every word. I 

like to see that. This is the figure that the prophet 

uses when he says on God's behalf, " Incline your 

>» 
ear. 

Man lost spiritual life and communion with his 
Maker by listening to the voice of the tempter, instead 
of the voice of God. We get life again by listening to 
the voice of God. The Word of God gives life. 
" The words that I speak unto you," says Christ, "they 
are spirit, and they are life." So, what people need is 
— to incline their ear, and HEAR. It is a great thing 
when the Gospel preacher gets the ear of a congrega- 
tion — I mean the inner ear. For a man has not only 
two ears in his head ; he has also what we may call the 
outer ear, and the inner ear — the ear of the soul. You 
may speak to the outward ear, and not reach the ear of 
the soul at all. Many in these days are like the " fool- 
ish people " to whom the prophet Jeremiah spoke : 
" Which have eyes, and see not ; which have ears, and 
hear not." There are many in every congregation 
whose attention I am not able to secure for five min- 
utes together. Almost any little thing will divert 
their minds. We need to give heed to the words of 
the Lord : "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." 

You remember when Peter was sent to Cornelius, he 
was to speak to him words whereby he and his house 
were to be saved. If you are to be saved, it must be 
by listening to the Word of God. Here is the prom- 
ise : "Hear ; and your soul shall live." 



78 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

There was an architect in Chicago who was con- 
verted. In giving his testimony, he said he had been 
in the habit of attending church for a great many years, 
but he could not say that he had really heard a sermon 
all the time. He said that when the minister gave out 
the text and began to preach, he used to settle himself 
in the corner of the pew and work out the plans of 
some building. He could not tell how many plans he 
had prepared while the minister was preaching. He 
was the architect for one or two companies ; and he used 
to do all his planning in that way. You see, Satan 
came in between him and the preacher, and caught 
away the good seed of the Word. I have often 
preached to people, and have been perfectly amazed to 
find they could hardly tell one solitary word of the 
sermon ; even the text had completely gone from 
them. 

A colored man once said that a good many of his 
congregation would be lost because they were too gen- 
erous. He saw that the people looked rather sur- 
prised ; so he said, " Perhaps you think I have made a 
mistake ; and that I ought to have said you will be lost 
because you are not generous enough. That is not 
so ; I meant just what I said. You give away too 
many sermons. You hear them, as it were, for other 
people." So there are a good many now hearing me 
who are listening for those behind them : they say the 
message is a very good one for neighbor So-and-so ; and 
they pass it over their shoulders, till it gets clear out at 
the door. You laugh ; but you know it is so. Listen ! 
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth My 
word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath ever- 



A CHIME OF GOSPEL BELLS. 79 

lasting life, and shall not come into condemnation : but 
is passed from death unto life." 

The next note in this peal of bells I wish to ring out 
is — 

COME AND SEE ! 

Scripture not only uses the ear, but the eye, in illus- 
trating the way of salvation. When a man both hears 
and sees a thing, he remembers it twice as long as if he 
only heard it. You remember what Philip said to 
Nathanael : " Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto 
him, we have found Him of whom Moses in the Law, 
and the Prophets, did write — Jesus of Nazareth, the 
son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can 
there any good thing come out of Nazareth ? Philip 
saith unto him, Come and see." Philip was a wise 
winner of souls. He brought his friend to Christ. 
Nathanael had one interview with the Son of God ; he 
became His disciple, and never left him. If Philip had 
gone on discussing the matter with him, and had tried 
to prove that some good thing could come out of Naz- 
areth, he might have never been a disciple at all. 

After all, we do not gain much by discussion. Let 
objectors or inquirers only get one personal interview 
with the Son of God ; that will scatter all their dark- 
ness, all their prejudice, and all their unbelief. The 
moment that Philip succeeded in getting Nathanael to 
Christ, the work was done. 

So we say to you, " Come and see ! " I thought, when 
I was converted, that my friends had been very un- 
faithful to me, because they had not told me about 
Christ. I thought I would have all my friends con. 
yerted inside of twenty-four hours; and I was quite. 



80 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

disapointed when they did not at once see Christ to 
be the Lily of the Valley, and the Rose of Sharon, 
and the Bright and Morning Star. I wondered why it 
was. No doubt many of those who hear me now have 
had that experience ; you thought when you saw 
Christ in all His beauty that you could soon make 
your friends see Him in the same light. 

But we need to learn that God alone can do it. If 
there is a skeptic now hearing me, I want to say that 
one personal interview with the Son of God will scatter 
all your infidelity and atheism. One night, in the 
inquiry-room, I met the wife of an atheist, who had 
been brought to God at one of our meetings. She was 
converted at the same time. She had brought two of 
her daughters to the meeting, desiring that they too 
should know Christ. I said to the mother: " How is 
it with your skepticism now?" " Oh," said she, " it is 
all gone." When Christ gets into the heart, atheism 
must go out ; if a man will only come and take one 
trustful, loving look at the Saviour, there will be no 
desire to leave Him again. 

A gentleman was walking down the street in Balti- 
more, a few years ago. It was near Christmas-time, 
and many of the shop-windows were filled with Christ- 
mas presents, toys, etc. As this gentleman passed 
along, he saw three little girls standing before a shop 
window, and he heard two of them trying to describe 
to the third the things that were in the window. It 
aroused his attention, and he wondered what it could 
mean. He went back, and found that the middle one 
was blind — she had never been able to see — and her two 
sisters were endeavoring to tell her how the things 



A CHIMB OF GOSPEL BELLS. 81 

looked. The gentleman stood beside them for some 
time, and listened ; he said it was most interesting to 
hear them trying to describe the different articles to 
the blind child — they found it a difficult task. As he 
told me, I said to myself, " That is just my position in 
trying to tell other men about Christ: I may talk 
about Him ; and yet they see no beauty in Him that 
they should desire Him. But if they will only come to 
Him, He will open their eyes and reveal Himself to 
them in all His loveliness and grace. 

Looking at it from the outside, there was not much 
beauty in the Tabernacle that Moses erected in the 
desert. It was covered on the outside with badgers' 
skins — and there was not much beauty in them. If 
you were to pass into the inside, then you would find 
out the beauty of the coverings. So the sinner sees no 
beauty in Christ till he comes to Him — then he can 
see it. 

You have looked at the windows of a grand church 
erected at the cost of many thousands of dollars. 
From the outside they did not seem very beautiful ; 
but get inside, when the rays of the sun are striking 
upon the stained glass, and you begin to understand 
what others have told you of their magnificence. So it 
is when you have come into personal contact with 
Christ ; you find Him to be the- very Friend you need. 
Therefore we extend to all the sweet Gospel invitation 
" Come and see ! " 

Let me now ring out the third bell — 

COME AND DRINK! 
" Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the 



82 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

waters : and he that hath no money ; come ye, buy, 
and eat : yea, come, buy wine and milk without money 
and without price." If you will come and drink at 
this fountain, Christ says you shall never thirst again. 
He has promised to quench your thirst. " If any 
man thirst," He says, " let him come unto Me and 
drink." 

I thank God for those words : "If any man." That 
does not mean merely a select few — respectable people ; 
it takes in all — every drunkard, every harlot, every 
thief, every self-righteous Pharisee. 

"If any man thirst." How this world is thirsting 
for something that will satisfy ! What fills the places 
of amusement — the dance houses, the music halls, and 
the theaters, night after night ? Men and women are 
thirsting for something they have not got. The 
moment a man turns his back upon God, he begins 
to thirst ; and that thirst will never be quenched until 
he returns to " the fountain of living waters." As the 
prophet Jeremiah tells us, we have forsaken the fountain 
of living waters, and hewn out for ourselves cisterns, 
broken cisterns, that can hold no water. There is a 
thirst this world can never quench : the more we drink 
of its pleasures, the thirstier we become. We cry out 
for more and more; and we are all the while being 
dragged down lower and lower. But there is " a fount- 
ain opened to the House of David . . . for sin and for 
uncleanness." Let us press up to it, and drink and 
live. 

I remember after one of the great battles in the War 
we were coming down the Tennessee River with a 
company of wounded men. It was in the spring of 



A CHIME OF GOSPEL BELLS. 83 

the year, and the water was not clear. You know 
that the cry of a wounded man is : " Water ! water ! " 
especially in a hot country. I remember taking a glass 
of the muddy water to one of these men. Although 
he was very thirsty, he only drank a little of it. He 
handed the glass back to me, and as he did so, he said, 
" Oh for a draught of water from my father's well ! " Are 
there any thirsty ones here ? Come and drink of the 
fountain opened in Christ ; your longing will be satis- 
fied, and you will never thirst again. It will be in you 
" a well of water springing up into everlasting life." 
Water rises to its own level ; and as this water has 
come down from the throne of God, it will carry us 
back to the presence of God. Come, O ye thirsty 
ones, stoop down and drink, and live ! You are all in- 
vited : come along ! When Moses took his rod and 
struck the flinty rock in the wilderness, out of it there 
came a pure crystal stream of water, which flowed on 
through tjiat dry and barren land. All that the poor 
thirsty Israelites had to do was to stoop and drink. 
It was free to all. So the grace of God is free to all. 
God invites you to come and take it : will you come ? 
I remember being in a large city where I noticed 
that the people resorted to a favorite well in one of the 
parks. I said to a man one day, " Does the well never 
run dry ? " The man was drinking of the water out of 
the well ; and as he stopped drinking, he smacked his 
lips, and said : " They have never been able to pump it 
dry yet. They tried it a few years ago. They put the 
fire engines to work, and tried all they could to pump 
the well dry ; but they found there was a river flowing 
right under the city." Thank God ? the well of salva- 



84 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

tion never gets dry, though the saints of God have been 
drinking from it for six thousand years ! Abel, Enoch 
Noah, Abraham, Moses, Elijah, the Apostles — all have 
drunk from it ; and they are now up yonder, where 
they are drinking of the stream that flows from the 
throne of God. " They shall hunger no more, neither 
thirst any more ; neither shall the sun light on them, 
nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of 
the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto 
living fountains of waters : and God shall wipe away all 
tears from their eyes." 

Let me ring another Gospel bell : 

COME AND DINE! 

My brother, my sister — are you hungry? Then 
come along and dine. Some people are afraid of being 
converted, because they think they will not hold out. 
Mr. Rainsford once said, " If the Lord gives us eternal 
life, He will surely give us all that is needful to pre- 
serve it." He not only gives life ; but He gives us our 
daily bread to feed that life. 

After the Saviour had risen from the dead, He had 
not appeared to His disciples for some days. Peter 
said to the others, "I go a fishing." Seven of them 
started off in their boats. They toiled all night but 
caught nothing. In the grey of the morning, they saw 
a Stranger on the shore. He addressed them and said, 
" Children, have ye any meat?" They told Him they 
had not. " Cast the net on the right side of the ship ; 
and ye shall find." I can imagine they said to each 
other, "What good is that going to do? We have 
been fishing here all night, and have got nothing? The 
idea that there should be fish on one side of the boat, 



A CHIME OF GOSPEL BELLS. 85 

and not on the other!" However, they obeyed the 
command ; and they had such a haul that there was no 
room for the fish in the boat. Then one of them said, 
" It is the Lord." When he heard that, Peter sprang 
right into the sea, and swam to the shore ; and the 
others pulled the boat to land. 

When they reached the shore the Master said, 
" Come and dine." What a meal that must have been. 
There was the Lord of Glory feeding His disciples. If 
He could set a table for His people in the wilderness, 
and feed three millions of Israelites for forty years, can 
He not give us our daily bread ? I do not mean only 
the bread that perisheth ; but the Bread that cometh 
from above. If He feeds the birds of the air, surely 
He will feed His children made in His own image ! If 
He numbers the very hairs of our head, He will take 
care to supply all our temporal wants. 

Not only so: He will give us the Bread of Life for 
the nourishment of the soul — the life that the world 
knows nothing of — if we will but go to Him. " I am 
the Bread of Life," He says. As we feed on Him by 
faith, we get strength. Let our thoughts rest upon 
Him ; and He will lift us above ourselves, and above 
the world, and satisfy our utmost desires. 

Another Gospel bell is — 

COMB AND REST! 

Dear friend, do you not need rest? There is a rest- 
lessness all over the world to-day. Men are sighing 
and struggling after rest. The cry of the world is, 
" Where can rest be found ? " The rich man that we 
read of in the parable pulled down his barns, that he 



SOVEREIGN GRACE. 



might build greater ; and said to his soul, " Take thine 
ease." He thought he was going to find rest in wealth ; 
but he was disappointed. That night his soul was sum- 
moned away. No ; there is no rest in wealth or pleasure. 

Others think they will succeed in drowning their 
sorrows and troubles by indulging in drink; but that 
will only increase them. " There is no peace, saith my 
God, to the wicked :" they are like the troubled sea 
that cannot rest. We sometimes talk of the ocean as 
being as calm as a sea of glass ; but it is never at rest : 
and here we have a faithful picture of the wicked man 
and woman. 

O weary soul, hear the sweet voice that comes ring- 
ing down through the ages: " Come unto me, all ye 
that labor, and are heavy-laden ; and I will give you 
REST." Thank God, He does not sell it ! If He did, 
some of us are so poor we could not buy ; but we can 
all take a gift. That little boy there knows how to 
take a gift ; that old man, living on borrowed time, 
and almost on the verge of another world, knows 
how to take a gift. The gift Jesus wants to bestow is 
rest : Rest for time, and rest for eternity. Every 
weary soul may have this rest if he will. But you 
must come to Christ and get it. Nowhere else can 
this rest be found. If you go to the world with your 
cares, your troubles, and your anxieties, all it can do 
is to put a few more on the top of them. The world is 
a poor place to go to for sympathy. As some one has 
said: "If you roll your burdens anywhere but on 
Christ, they will roll back on you with more weight 
than ever. Cast them on Christ ; and He will carry 
them for you." 



A CH I ME OF GOSPEL BELLS. 8? 

Here is another bell — 

COME AND REASON! 

Perhaps there are some infidels reading this. They 
are fond of saying to us, " Come and reason." But I 
want to draw their attention to the verses that go be- 
fore this one in the first chapter of Isaiah. The 
trouble with a good many skeptics is this — they take a 
sentence here and there from Scripture without refer- 
ence to the context. Let us see what this passage 
says : " When ye spread forth your hands, I will hide 
mine eyes from you : yea, when ye make many prayers 
I will not hear : your hands are full of blood. Wash 
you, make you clean ; put away the evil of your doings 
from before Mine eyes ; cease to do evil ; learn to do 
well ; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the 
fatherless, plead for the widow." 

Then we have the gracious invitation, " Come now, 
and let us reason together." Do you think God is 
going to reason with a man whose hands are dripping 
with blood, and before he asks forgiveness and mercy ? 
Will God reason with a man living in rebellion against 
Him? Nay. But if we turn from and confess our sin, 
then He will reason with us, and pardon us. "Though 
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow : 
though they be red like crimson, they shall be as 
wool." 

But if a man persists in his rebellion against God, 
there is no invitation to him to come and reason, and 
receive pardon. If I have been justly condemned to 
death by the law of the State, and am waiting the ex- 
ecution of my sentence, I am not in a position to rea- 



SOVEREIGN GRACE. 



son with the governor. If he chooses to send me a 
free pardon, the first thing I have to do is to accept it ; 
then he may allow me to come into his presence. But 
we must bear in mind that God is above our reason. 
When man fell, his reason became perverted ; and he 
was not in a position to reason with God. " If any 
man willeth to do His will he shall know of the teach- 
ing." We must be willing to forsake our sins. ." Let 
the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man 
his thoughts : and let him return unto the Lord, and 
He will have mercy upon him ; and to our God, for He 
will abundantly pardon," The moment a man is will- 
ing to part with his sins, God meets him in grace and 
offers him peace and pardon 

The next bell I would like to sound out is — 

COME TO THE MARRIAG-E ! 

"Behold, I have prepared my dinner: ... all 
things are ready; come unto the marriage." Who 
would not feel highly honored if they were invited to 
some fine residence, to the wedding of one of the mem- 
bers of the President's family? I can imagine you would 
feel rather proud of having received such an invitation. 
You would want all your friends to know it. 

Probably you may never get such an invitation. But 
I have a far grander invitation for you here than that. 
I cannot speak for others ; but if I know my own heart, 
I would rather be torn to pieces to-night, limb from 
limb, and die in the glorious hope of being at the mar- 
riage-supper of the Lamb, than live in this world a 
thousand years and miss that appointment at the last. 
" Blessed is he that is called to the marriage-supper 



A CHIMB OF GOSPEL BELLS. 89 

of the Lamb." It will be a fearful thing for any of 
us to see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob taking their place 
in the kingdom of God, and be ourselves thrust out. 

This is no myth, my friends; it is a real invitation. 
Every man and woman is invited. All things are now 
ready. The feast has been prepared at great expense. 
You may spurn the grace, and the gift of God ; but 
you must bear in mind that it cost God a good deal 
before He could provide this feast. When He gave 
Christ He gave the richest jewel that heaven had. 
And now He sends out the invitation. He commands 
His servants to go into the highways, and hedges, and 
lanes, and compel them to come in, that His house 
may be full. Who will come? You say you are not 
fit to come? If the President invited you to the White 
House, and the invitation said you were to come just 
as you were ; and if the sentinel at the gate stopped 
you because you did not wear a dress suit, what would 
you do? Would you not show him the document 
signed in the name of the President? Then he would 
stand aside and let you pass. So, my friend, if you can 
prove to me that you are a sinner, I can prove to you 
that you are invited to this Gospel feast — to this mar- 
riage supper of the Lamb. 

Let me ring out another bell in this Gospel chime — 

"COME, INHERIT THE KING-DOM!" 

"Then shall the King say unto them on His right 
hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the 
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the 
world." A kingdom !— -think of that ! Think of a 
poor man in this world, struggling with poverty and 



90 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

want, invited to become possessor of a kingdom! It 
is no fiction ; it is described as " an inheritance incor- 
ruptible and undefiled,and that fadeth not away, reserved 
in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God 
through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in 
the last time." We are called to be kings and priests: 
that is a high calling. Surely no one who hears me 
intends to miss that kingdom ! Christ said, "Seek ye 
first the Kingdom of God." Those who inherit it 
shall go no more out. 
Yet another bell — 

"COMB UP HITHER!" 

In the Revelation we find that the two witnesses 
were called up to heaven when their testimony was 
ended. So if we are faithful in the service of our 
King, we shall by and by hear a voice saying, " Come 
up hither ! " There is going to be a separation one 
day. The man who has been persecuting his godly 
wife will some day find her missing. That drunkard who 
beats his children because they have been taught the 
way into the Kingdom of God, will miss them some 
day. They will be taken up out of the darkness, and 
away from the persecution, up into the presence of 
God. When the voice of God saying, " Come up 
hither" is heard, calling His children home, there will be 
a grand jubilee. That glorious day will soon dawn. 
" Lift up your heads, for the time of your redemption 
draweth nigh." 

One more bell to complete the chime — 

" WHOSOEVER WILL, LET HIM COME!" 
It is the last time that the word " Come " appears in 



A CHIME OF GOSPEL BELLS. 91 

the Bible ; and it occurs there over one thousand nine 
hundred times. We find it away back in Genesis, 
" Come, thou and all thy house, into the ark "; and it 
goes right along through Scripture. Prophets, apos- 
tles, and preachers, have been ringing it out all through 
the ages. Now the record is about to be closed, and 
Christ tells John to put in one more invitation. After 
the Lord had been in glory for about sixty years, per- 
haps He saw some poor man stumbling over one of the 
apostles' letters about the doctrine of election. So He 
came to John in Patmos, and John was in the Spirit on 
the Lord's Day. Christ said to His disciple, " Write 
these things to the Churches." I can imagine John's 
pen moved very easily and very swiftly that day; for 
the hand of his Lord was upon him. The Master said 
to him, "Before you close up the Book, put in one 
more invitation; and make it so broad that the whole 
world shall know they are included, and not a single 
one may teel that he is left out." John began to 
write — "The Spirit and the Bride say, Come," that is, 
the Spirit and the Church; " and let him that heareth 
say, Come ! " If you have heard and received the 
message yourself, pass it on to those near you; your 
religion is not a very real thing if it does not affect 
some one else. We have to get rid of this idea that 
the world is going to be reached by ministers alone. 
All those who have drunk of the cup of salvation must 
pass it around. 

" Let him that is athirst, come." But there are some 
so deaf that they cannot hear; others are not thirsty 
enough — or they think they are not. I have seen men 
in our after-meetings with two streams of tears running 



92 SO VEREIGN GRA CE. 

down their cheeks; and yet they said the trouble with 
them was that they were not anxious enough. They 
were anxious to be anxious. Probably Christ saw that 
men would say they did not feel thirsty; so He told 
the apostle to make the invitation still broader. So 
the last invitation let down into a thirsty world is this : 
" Whosoever will, let him take the water of 
life freely." 

Thank God for those words "Whosoever will " ! Who 
will come and take it ? That is the question. You 
have the power to accept or to reject the invitation. 
A man in one meeting once was honest enough to say 
" I won't." If I had it in my power I would bring 
this whole audience to a decision now, either for or 
against. I hope many now reading these words will 
say, "I will ! " If God says we can, all the devils in 
hell cannot stop us. All the infidels in the world can- 
not prevent us. That little boy, that little girl, can say, 
" I will ! " If it were necessary, God would send down 
a legion of angels to help you ; but He has given you 
the power, and you can accept Christ this very minute 
if you are really in earnest. 

Let me say that it is the easiest thing in the world 
to become a Christian, and it is also the most difficult. 
You will say: "That is a contradiction, a paradox." I 
will illustrate what I mean. A little nephew of mine in 
Chicago, a few years ago, took my Bible and threw it 
down on the floor. His mother said, " Charlie, pick up 
Uncle's Bible." The little fellow said he would not. 
"Charlie, do you know what that word means ? " She 
soon found out that he did, and that he was not going 
to pick up the Book. His will had come right up 



A CHIME OF GOSPEL BELLS. 93 

against his mother's will. I began to be quite inter- 
ested in the struggle; I knew if she did not break his 
will, he would some day break her heart. She repeated, 
"Charlie, go and pick up Uncle's Bible, and put it on 
the table." The little fellow said he could not do it. "I 
will punish you if you do not." He saw a strange look 
in her eye, and the matter began to get serious. He 
did not want to be punished, and he knew his mother 
would punish him if he did not lift the Bible. So he 
straightened every bone and muscle in him, and he said 
he could not do it. I really believe the little fellow had 
reasoned himself into the belief that he could not do it. 
His mother knew he was only deceiving himself; so 
she kept him right to the point. At last he went down, 
put both his arms around the Book, and tugged away 
at it; but he still said he could not do it. The truth 
was — he did not want to. He got up again without 
lifting it. The mother said, "Charlie, I am not going 
to talk to you any more. This matter has to be set- 
tled; pick up that Book, or I will punish you." At 
last she broke his will, and then he found it as easy as 
it is for me to turn my hand. He picked up the Bible, 
and laid it on the table. So it is with the sinner; if you 
are really willing to take the Water of Life, YOU CAN 
DOIT. 

" I heard the voice of Jesus say, 

' Come unto Me, and rest; 
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down, 

Thy head upon My breast.' 
I came to Jesus as I was — 

Weary, and worn, and sad; 
I found in Him a resting-place, 

And He has made me glad. 



94 SOVEREIGN GRACE. 

" I heard the voice of Jesus say, 

' Behold, I freely give 
The living water — thirsty one, 

Stoop down, and drink, and live.' 
I came to Jesus, and I drank 

Of that life-giving stream; 
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, 

And now I live in Him. 

" I heard the voice of Jesus say, 
' I am this dark world's Light: 
Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise, 

And all thy day be bright.' 
I looked to Jesus, and I found 
In Him my Star, my Sun; 
And in that Light of life I'll walk 
Till traveling days are done." 

Dr. H. Bonar. 



GOSPEL DIALOGUES. 




I.— MR. MOODY AND REV. MARCUS RAINS- 
FORD. 

WHAT IT IS TO BE A CHILD OF GOD. 

!r. MOODY— What is it to be a child of 
God ? What is the first step ? 

Rev. M. Rainsford — Well, sir, I am a 
child of God when I become united to the 
Son of God. The Son of God prayed that all who be- 
lieved upon Him should be one with Him, as He was 
one with the Father. Believing on Jesus, I receive 
Him, and become united to Him; I become, as it were, 
a member of his Body. I am an heir of God, a joint- 
heir with Christ. 

Mr. M.— What is the best definition of Faith? 
Mr. R. — Trust in the Son of God, as the Saviour He 
has given to us. Simple trust, not only in a creed, but 
in a Person. I trust my soul to Him I trust the keep- 
ing of my soul to Him. God has promised that whoso- 
ever trusts Him, mercy shall compass him on every 
side. 

Mr. M. — Does not the Scripture say that the devils 
believe ? 

(95) 



96 GOSPEL DIALOGUES. 

Mr. R. — They believe the truth, do they not ? They 
believe that Jesus was manifested to destroy them; and 
they " tremble." I wish we believed as truly and as 
fully that God sent His Son into the world to save us. 

Mr. M.— What is it to " trust?" 

Mr. R. — I take it to mean four things : 

(i) Believing on Christ: that is, taking Him at His 
Word. 

(2) Hoping in Christ : that is, expecting help from 
Him, according to His Word. 

(3) Relying on Christ : That is, resting on Him for the 
times, and ways, and circumstances in which He may 
be pleased to fulfill His promises according to His Word. 

(4) Waiting on Christ : that is, continuing to do so, 
notwithstanding delay, darkness, barrenness, perplex- 
ing experiences, and the sentence of death in myself. 
He may keep me waiting awhile (I have kept Him a 
long time waiting); but He will not keep me waiting 
always. Believing in Him, hoping in Him, relying 
upon Him, and waiting for Him — I understand to be 
trusting in Him. 

Mr. M. — Can all these friends here believe the 
promises? 

Mr. R. — The promises are true, whether we believe 
them or not. We do not make them true by believing 
them. God could not charge me with being an unbe- 
liever, or condemn me for unbelief, if the promises 
were not true for me. I could in that case turn round 
and say: " Great God, why did you expect me to be- 
lieve a promise that was not true for me ? " And yet 
the Scriptures set forth unbelief as the greatest sin I 
can continue to commit. 



WHAT IT IS TO BE A CHILD OF GOD. 97 

Mr. M. — How are we " cleansed by the Blood?''' 

Mr. R. — "The blood is the life." The sentence upon 
sinners for their sin was, "The soul that sinneth it shall 
die." That we might not die, the Son of God died. 
The blood is the poured-out life of the Son of God, 
given as the price, the atonement, the substitute, for 
the forfeited life of the believer in Jesus Christ. Any 
poor sinner who receives Christ as God's gift is cleansed 
from all sin by His Blood. 

Mr. M. — Was the blood shed for us all? 

Mr. R.— 

" There is a fountain filled with blood, 
Drawn from Immanuel's veins; 
And sinners plunged beneath that flood, 
Lose all their guilty stains. 

"The dying thief rejoiced to see 
That fountain in his day; 
And there may we, though vile as he, 
Wash all our sins away." 

Mr. M. — Some may think that this is only a hymn, 
and that it is not Scripture. Did the Lord ever say 
anything similar to what the hymn says ? 

Mr. R. — He said: " I have given you the blood upon 
the altar to make an atonement for your souls." That 
was said of the picture of the blood of Christ. And at 
the Last Supper our Lord said His blood was "the 
blood of the new testament which is shed for you and 
for many for the remission of sins." 

Mr. M.— What is " the gift of God ? " 

Mr. R. — There are three great gifts that God has 
given to us — 



98 GOSPEL DIALOGUES. 

(i) His blessed Son. 

(2) The Holy Ghost, "the promise of the Father," 
that we might understand the unspeakable gift be- 
stowed on us when He gave His Son. 

(3) He has given us His Holy Word. 

The Holy Ghost has inspired the writers of it that 
we may read, and hear, and know the love that God 
has to us, " in that while we were yet sinners Christ 
died for us." We could not have the Son for our 
Saviour, unless God gave Him. We could not under- 
stand the gift of God, unless the Holy Ghost had come 
to quicken us and teach us ; and this He does through 
the Word. 

Mr. M. — How much is there in Christ for us who 
believe ? 

Mr. R.— In Him dwelt " all the fullness of the God- 
head bodily " — fullness of life, of righteousness, of 
sanctification, of redemption, title to heaven, and meet- 
ness for it ; all that God wants from us, and all that we 
want from God, He gave in the person of Christ. 

Mr. M. — How long does it take God to justify a 
sinner? 

Mr. R. — How long ? The moment we receive Him 
we receive authority to enroll ourselves among the 
children of God, and are then and there justified from 
all things. The sentence of complete justification does 
not take long to pronounce. Some persons profess to 
see a difficulty in the variety of ways in which a sinner 
is said to be justified before God: (1) Justified by God ; 
(2) Justified by Christ ; (3) Justified by His Blood ; (4) 
Justified by grace ; (5) Justified by faith ; (6) Justified 
by works. 



WHAT IT IS TO BE A CHILD OF GOD. 99 

Justification has reference to a court of justice. Sup- 
pose a sinner standing at the bar of God, the bar of 
conscience, and the bar of his fellow-men, charged with 
a thousand crimes. 

(i) There is the Judge: that is God, who alone can 
condemn or justify: "It is God that justifieth." That 
is justification by God. 

(2) There is the Advocate, who appears at court for 
the sinner; the counselor, the intercessor : that is Christ. 
"Justified by Christ." 

(3) There is next to be considered the ground and 
reason on account of which the Advocate pleads be- 
fore the Judge. That is the merit of His own precious 
Blood. That is justification by His Blood. 

(4) Next we must remember the law which the 
Judge is dispensing. The law of works ? Nay, but the 
law of grace and faith. That is justification by His 
grace. 

(5) And now the judge himself pronounces the re- 
sult. "Be it known unto you that through this Man is 
preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him 
all that believe are justified from all things." Now, for 
the first time, the sinner at the bar knows the fact. 
This is justification by faith. 

(6) But now the justified man leaves the criminal's 
dock. He does not return to his prison, or to his 
chains. He walks forth from the court-house a justified 
man; and all men, friends or foes, are made aware that 
he is free. That is " justification by works." 

Mr. M. — A man says : " I have not found peace.*' 
How would you deal with him? 
Mr. R. — He is really looking for the wrong thing. I 



100 GOSPEL DIALOGUES. 



do not look for peace. I look for Christ; and I get 
peace with Him. Some people put peace in the place 
of Christ. Others put their repentance or prayers in 
the place of Christ. Anything put in the place of 
Christ, or between the sinner and Christ, is in the wrong 
place. When I get Christ, I possess in Him everything 
that belongs to Him, as my Saviour. 

Mr. M. — Some think they cannot be Christians until 
they are sanctified. 

Mr. R. — Christ is my Sanctification, as much as my 
Justification. I cannot be sanctified but by His blood. 
There is a wonderful passage in Exodus. The high 
priest there represented in picture the Lord Jesus 
Christ. There was to be placed on the forefront of the 
miter of the high priest, when he stood before God, 
a plate of pure gold, and graven upon it as with a sig- 
net, the words: "Holiness to the Lord." My faith sees 
it on the forefront of the miter on the brow of my High 
Priest in heaven. "And it shall be upon Aaron's fore- 
head, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy 
things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all 
their holy gifts ; and it shall be always upon his fore- 
head, that THEY may be accepted before the Lord." 
That was for Israel of old ! That on the brow of Jesus 
Christ is for me. Yes — for me, " that I may be ac- 
cepted before the Lord." As I believe this truth it puri- 
fies my heart, it operates on my affections and my de- 
sires ; and I seek to walk with Him, because He is my 
Sanctification before God, just as I trust in Him as my 
Justification — because He shed His blood for me. 

Mr. M. — What is it to believe on His name? 

Mr. ~° — His name is His revealed self. We are in- 



WHAT IT IS TO BE A CHILD OF GOD. 101 

formed what it is in Exodus. Moses was in the mount 
with God, and He had shown him wonderful things of 
kindness and of love. And Moses said, "O God, show 
me thy glory/ " And He said, " I will make all my 
goodness pass before thee." So He put Moses in the 
cleft of the rock, and proclaimed the name of the Lord : 
"The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long- 
suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth ; keeping 
mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, 
and sin " — there it is, root and branch — "and that will 
by no means clear the guilty." That is His name ; and 
His glory He will not give unto another : and to believe 
in the name of the Lord is just to shelter under His 
promises. 

Mr. M. — What is it to " receive the Kingdom of God 
like a little child ? " 

Mr. R. — Well, I do not believe in a little child being 
an innocent thing. I think it means that we are to re- 
ceive it in all our need and helplessness. A little child 
is the most dependent thing on earth. All its resources 
are in its parents' love : all it can do is to cry ; and its 
necessities explain the meaning to the mother's heart. 
If we interpret its language, it means : " Mother, wash 
me ; I cannot wash myself. Mother, clothe me ; I am 
naked, and cannot clothe myself. Mother, feed me; I 
cannot feed myself. Mother, carry me ; I cannot walk." 
It is written, "A mother may forget her sucking child ; 
yet will not I forget thee." This it is to receive the 
Kingdom of God as a little child — to come to Jesus in 
our helplessness and say : "Lord Jesus, wash me ! " 
" Clothe me ! " " Feed me ! " " Carry me ! " " Save me, 
Lord, or I perish," 



102 GOSPEL DIALOGUES. 



Mr. M. — A good many say they are going to try. 
What would you say to such ? 

Mr. R. — God wants no man to "try." Jesus has al- 
ready tried. He has not only tried, but He has suc- 
ceeded. "It is finished." Believe in Him who has 
"made an end of sins, making reconciliation for iniquity, 
finishing transgression, and bringing in everlasting 
righteousness." 

Mr. M. — If people say they are " going to try," what 
would you say to them ? 

Mr. R. — 1° should say, Put trusting in the place of 
trying ; believing in the place of doubting ; and I should 
urge them to come to Christ as they are, instead of 
waiting to be better. There is nothing now between 
God the Father and the poor sinner, but the Lord 
Jesus Christ; and Christ has put away sin that I may be 
joined to the Lord. "And he that is joined unto the 
Lord is one spirit ; " "And where the spirit of the Lord 
is, there is liberty." 

Mr. M. — About the last thing an anxious inquirer 
has to contend with is his feelings. There are hun- 
dreds here very anxious to know they are safe in the 
Kingdom ; but they think they have not the right kind 
of feeling. What kind of feeling should they have? 

Mr. R. — I think there are several of those present 
who can say that they found a blessing in the after- 
meetings through one verse of Scripture. I will quote 
it as an answer to Mr. Moody's question. "Who is 
among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the 
voice of His servant, that walketh in darkness, and 
hath no light ? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, 
and stay upon his God." Some of you may be walking 



WHAT IT IS TO BE A CHILD OF GOD. 103 

in darkness ; that is how you feel. What is God's 
command ? "Let him trust in the name of the Lord, 
and stay upon his God." If I am to trust God in the 
darkness, I am to trust Him anywhere. 

Mr. M. — You would advise them, then, to trust in 
the Lord, whether they have the right kind of feeling 
or not ? 

Mr. R. — If I were to think of my feelings for a mo- 
ment, I should be one of the most miserable men in 
this hall to-night. My feelings are those of a sinful 
corrupt nature. I am just to believe what God tells 
me in spite of my feelings. Faith is "the evidence of 
things not seen :" I might add, " the evidence of things 
not felt." 

Mr. M. — Some may say that faith is the gift of God : 
and that they must wait till God imparts it to them. 

Mr. R. — " Faith cometh by hearing." The word of 
God is the medium through which faith comes to us. 
God has given us Christ ; and He has given us His 
Spirit, and His Word : what need is there to wait? God 
will give faith to the man who reads His Word and 
seeks for His Spirit. 

Mr. M. — What, then, should they wait for? 

Mr. R. — I do not know of anything they have to 
wait for. God says : " Come now ; Believe now." No, 
no ; there is nothing to wait for. He has given us all 
He has to give : and the sooner we take it the better. 

Mr. M. — Perhaps some of them think they have too 
many sins to allow their coming. 

Mr. R. — The Lord Jesus has put away sin by the 
sacrifice of Himself. "As far as the east is from the 
west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from 



1C4 GOSPEL DIALOGUES. 

us." Why do we not believe him ? He says He has 
" made an end of sins." Why do we not believe Him? 
Is He a liar? 

Mr. M. — Is unbelief a sin ? 

Mr. R. — It is the root of all sin. 

Mr. M. — Has a man the power to believe these 
things, if he will ? 

Mr. R. — When God gives a command, it means that 
we are able by His grace to do it. 

Mr. M. What do you mean by " coming " to Christ? 

Mr. R. — Believing in Him. If I were to prepare a 
great feast in this hall to-morrow night, and say that 
any man that comes to it would have a grand feast and a 
five-pound note besides, there would not be any ques- 
tion as to what " coming " meant. God has prepared 
a great feast. He has sent His messengers to invite 
all to come ; and there is nothing to pay. 

Mr. M.— What is the first step. 

Mr. R. — To believe. 

Mr. M. — Believe what? 

Mr. R. — God's invitation ; God's promise ; God's pro- 
vision. Let us believe the faithfulness of Him who 
calls us. Does God intend to mock us, and make 
game of us ? If He did so to one man, it would hush 
all the harps in heaven. 

Mr. M. — Suppose the people do " come," and that 
they fall into sin to-morrow ? 

Mr. R.— Let them come back again. God says we 
are to forgive till seventy times seven. Do you think 
the great God will do less than He commands us to do ? 

Mr. M. — If they truly come, will they have the de- 
sire to do the things they used to do before? 



WHAT IT IS TO BE A CHILD OF GOD. 105 

Mr. R. — When a man really receives Christ into his 
heart, he experiences " the expulsive power of a new 
affection." The devil may tempt him to sin ; but sin 
has lost its attraction. A man finds out that it does 
not pay to grieve God's Holy Spirit. 

Mr. M. — What would you advise your converts to 
do? 

Mr. R. — When you were little babes, if you had had 
no milk, no clothing, and no rest, you would not have 
lived very long. You are now the result of your 
fathers' and mothers' care. When a man is born in 
the family of God he has life ; but he needs food. 
" Man doth not live by bread alone." If you do not 
feed upon God's promises you will be of no use in 
God's service: it will be well for you if your life does 
not die out altogether before long. Then you need 
exercise. If you only take food, and do no work, you 
will soon suffer from what I may call spiritual apo- 
plexy. When you get hold of a promise, go and tell 
it to others. The best way for me to get help for my- 
self is by trying to help others. There is one great 
promise that young disciples should never forget : "He 
that watereth shall be watered also himself." 

Mr. M. — How are they to begin? 

Mr. R. — I believe there are some rich ladies and rich 
gentlemen on the platform. When such persons are 
brought to the Lord, they are apt to be ashamed to 
speak about salvation to their old companions. If our 
Christian ladies would go amongst other ladies ; Chris- 
tian gentlemen amongst gentlemen of their own class ; 
and so on — we should see a grand work for Christ. 
Each of you have some friends or relations whom you 



106 GOSPEL DIALOGUES. 

can influence better than anybody else can. Begin with 
them; and God will give you such a taste for work 
that you will not be content to stay at home: you will 
go and work outside as well. 

Mr. M. — A good place to start in would be the 
kitchen, would it not ? Begin with some little kitchen 
meetings. Let some of you get fifteen or twenty 
mothers together ; and ask them to bring their young 
children with them. Sing some of these sweet hymns ; 
read a few verses of Scripture ; get your lips opened ; 
and you will find that streams of salvation will be 
breaking out all around. I always think that every 
convert ought to be good for a dozen others right 
away. 

Mr. R. —Let me tell a little incident in my own ex- 
perience. I was once asked to go and see a great man 
and tell him about Christ. He did not expect me ; 
and if I had known that, perhaps I should not have 
had the faith to go at all. When I went he was very 
angry and very nearly turned me out of the house. 
He was an old man, and had one little daughter. A 
few weeks afterwards he went to the Continent, and 
his daughter went with him. One day when he was 
very ill he saw his daughter looking at him, while 
the tears rolled down her cheeks. " My child," he said, 
"what are you crying about?" " Oh, papa, you do 
not love the Lord Jesus Christ; I am afraid you are 
going to hell ! " " Why do you say that ? " " Do you 
not remember when Mr. Rainsford called to see you, you 
were very rude to him ? I never saw you so angry. 
And he only wished to speak to you about Jesus." Well, 
my child, you shall read to me about Jesus," If that 



WHAT IT IS TO BE A CHILD OF GOD. 107 

man has gone to heaven — I do not say whether he 
has or not — the only light he had he got from his 
little daughter. You set to work ; and you cannot tell 
what may be the result, by the blessing of God. 

" Sons of God, beloved in Jesus 

Oh, the wondrous word of grace ! 
In His Son the Father sees us, 
And as sons He gives us place. 

" Blessed power now brightly beaming — 
On our God we soon shall gaze ; 
And in light celestial gleaming 
We shall see our Saviour's face. 

" By the power of grace transforming 
We shall then His image bear ; 
Christ His promised word performing, 
We shall then His glory share." 

El Nathan. 




II.— MR. MOODY AND REV. MARCUS RAINS- 
FORD. 

HOW TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN. 

|r. MOODY.— Mr. Rainsford, how can one 
make room in their heart for Christ ? 
Rev. M. Rainsford. — First, do we 
rn^u^fA^Mt) really want Christ to be in our hearts? 
If we do, the best thing will be to ask Him to come 
and make room for Himself. He will surely come and 
do so. " I can do all things through Christ which 
strengtheneth me." " Without Me ye can do noth- 
ing." 

Mr. M.— Will Christ crowd out the world if He 
comes in ? 

Mr. R. — He spake a parable to that effect. " When 
a strong man armed keepeth his palace [the poor sin- 
ner's heart], his goods are in peace. But when a 
stronger than he shall come upon him and overcome 
him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he 
trusted [unbelief, false views of God, worldliness, and 
love of sin], and divideth his spoils." The devil keeps 
the heart, because Christ desires it for His throne — 
until Christ drives Him out. 

Mr. M. — What is the meaning of the promise? — 
" Him that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out." 

Mr. R. — I think we often put the emphasis upon the 
wrong word. People are troubled about how they are 

(108) 



HOW TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN. 109 

going to COME, when they should put the emphasis on 
Him to whom they are coming. " Him that cometh 
unto Me I will in no wise cast out : " no matter how 
he may come. I remember hearing this incident at an 
aftermeeting. A gentleman was speaking to an anx- 
ious inquirer, telling him to come to Christ, to trust in 
Christ ; but the man seemed to get no comfort. He 
said that was just where he found his difficulty. By 
and by, another friend came and spoke to the anxious 
one. All he said was: "Come to CHRIST ; trust in 
CHRIST." The man saw it in a minute. He went 
and told the other gentleman, " I see the way of salva- 
tion now." " Tell me," said he, " what did that man 
say to you? " Well, he told me to trust in Christ." 
" That is what I told you." " Nay, you bade me trust in 
Christ, and come to Christ ; he bade me trust in Christ, 
and come to Christ." That made all the difference. 

Mr. M — What does Christ mean by the words " in 
no wise ? 

Mr. R. — It means that if the sins of all sinners on 
earth and all the devils in hell were upon your soul, 
He will not refuse you. Not even in the range of 
God's omniscience is there a reason why Christ will 
refuse any poor sinner who comes to Him for pardon. 

Mr. M. — What is the salvation He comes to proclaim 
and to bestow? 

Mr. R. — To deliver us from the power of darkness 
and the bottomless pit, and set us upon the throne of 
glory. It is salvation from death and hell, and curse 
and ruin. But that is only the half of it. It is salva- 
tion to God, and light, and glory, and honor, and im- 
mortality ; and from earth to heaven. 



110 GOSPEL DIALOGUES. 

Mr. M. — If the friends here do not come and get 
this salvation, what will be the true reason? 

Mr. R. — Either they are fond of some sin which 
they do not intend to give up, or they do not believe 
they are in a lost condition, and under the curse of 
God, and therefore do not feel their need of Him who 
" came to seek and to save that which was lost." Or they 
do not believe God's promises. I have sometimes 
asked a man, " Good friend, are you saved ! " " Well, 
no, I am not saved." "Are you lost?" "Oh, God 
forbid ! I am not lost." " Where are you, then, if you 
are neither saved nor lost?" May God wake us up 
to the fact that we are all in one state or the other ! 

Mr. M. — What if any of them should fall into sin 
after they have come to Christ? 

Mr. R. — God has provided for the sins of His people, 
committed after they come to Christ, as surely as for 
their sins committed before they came to Him. Christ 
" ever liveth to make intercession for all that come 
unto God by Him." "If we say that we have no sin 
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we 
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us 
our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 
. . . . For, "if any man sin, we have an Advocate 
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He 
is the propitiation for our sins." He will take care of 
our sinful, tried and tempted selves, if we trust our- 
selves to Him. 

Mr. M. — Is it not said that if we sin willfully after 
we have received the knowledge of the truth, " there 
remaineth no more sacrifice for sins?" 

Mr. R. — Yes. Paul wrote it in his Epistle to the 



HOW TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN. Ill 

Hebrews. Some of them were trifling with the blood 
of Christ, reverting to the types and shadows of the 
Levitical Law, and trusting to a fulfilled ritual for sal- 
vation. He is not referring to ordinary acts of sin. 
By sinning willfully he means, as he explains it, a 
treading under foot the Son of God" and a total and 
final apostatizing from Christ. Those who reject or 
neglect Him will find no other sacrifice for sin remain- 
ing. Before Christ came the Jewish ceremonies were 
shadows of the good things to come ; but Christ was 
the substance of them. But now that he has come to 
put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, there is no 
other sacrifice for sin remaining for those who reject 
Him. God will send no other Saviour, and no further 
atonement ; no second " fountain shall be opened for sin 
and uncleanness." There remains, therefore, nothing 
for the rejector of salvation by Christ, but " a fearful 
looking-for of judgment." 

Mr. M. — There are some who say they do not know 
that they have the right kind of faith. 

Mr. R. — God does not ask us if we have the right 
kind of faith. He tells us the right thing to believe, 
and the right faith is to believe the right thing, even 
what God has told us and promised us. If I told you, 
Mr. Moody, that I had found a hymn-book last night 
you would believe me, would you not? (Mr. Moody: 
Yes.) Suppose I said it was the valuable one you lost 
the other night, you would believe me also just the 
same. There is no difference in the kind of faith ; the 
difference is in the thing believed. When the Son of 
God tells me that He died for sinners, that is a fact 
for my faith to lay hold of : the faith itself is not the 



112 GOSPEL DIALOGUES. 

thing to be considered. I do not look at my hand, 
when I take a gift, and wonder what sort of a hand it 
is. I look at the gift. 

Mr. M. — What about those people who say their 
hearts are so hard, and they have no love to Christ ? 

Mr. R. — Of course they are hard and cold. No man 
loves Christ till he believes that Christ loves him. "We 
love Him, because He first loved us." It is the love of 
God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost that 
makes the change. 

Mr. M. — Paul said he was " crucified with Christ." 
what did he mean? 

Mr. R.— Oh, that is a grand text ! Thank God I 
have been " crucified with Christ." The Cross of Christ 
represents the death due to the sinner who had broken 
God's laws. When Christ was crucified every member 
of His body was crucified : but every believer that was, 
or is, or shall be, is a member of Christ's body, of His 
flesh, and of His bones. Again, we read : " Whether 
one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or 
one member be honored, all the members rejoice with 
it : now ye are the body of Christ, and members in 
particular." So when Christ was crucified for sin, I 
was also crucified in Him ; and now 1 am dead and 
gone — as far as my old self is concerned. I have 
already suffered for sin in Him. Yes; I am dead and 
buried with Christ. That is the grand truth that Paul 
laid hold upon. I am stone dead as a sinner in the 
sight of God. As it is written, I am " become dead to 
the law by the body of Christ, that I might be married 
to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead, 
that I should bring forth fruit unto God." " I am 



HOW TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN. T.3 

crucified with Christ ; nevertheless I live ; yet not I, but 
Christ liveth in me; " and God Himself commands me 
so to regard my standing before Him as His believing 
child. " In that Christ died, He died, unto sin once : 
but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Likewise 
reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but 
alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." 

Mr M. — Should not a man repent a good deal before 
he comes to Christ? 

Mr. R. — " Repent a good deal ! " I do not think 
any man repents in the true sense of the word till he 
loves Christ and hates sin. There are many false re- 
pentances in the Bible. We are told that Pharaoh re- 
pented when the judgment of God came upon him, 
and he said, " I have sinned ; " but as soon as the 
judgment passed away, he went back to his sin. We 
read that Balaam said : " I have sinned." Yet " he 
loved the wages of unrighteousness." When Saul lost 
his kingdom he repented ; " I have sinned," he said. 
When Judas Iscariot found that he had made a great 
mistake, he said : " I have sinned, in that I have be- 
trayed innocent blood ; " yet he went " to his own 
place. " I would not give much for these repentances ; 
I would rather have Peter's repentance : when Christ 
looked upon His fallen saint it broke His heart, and he 
went out and wept bitterly. Or the repentance of the 
Prodigal, when his father's arms were around his neck, 
and his kisses on his cheek, and he said, " Father, I 
have sinned against heaven and before thee, and airi no 
more worthy to be called thy son." 

Mr. M. — What is your title to heaven? 

Mr. R.— The Person, the Life, Death, and Right- 



114 GOSPEL DIALOGUES. 

eousness, of the God-man, the Son of God, my Substi- 
tute, and my Saviour. 

Mr. M. — How do you obtain that? 

Mr. R. — By receiving Him. "As many as received 
Him, to them gave He authority to become the sons 
of God, even to them that believed on His name.' 

Mr. M. — What is your meetness for heaven ? 

Mr. R. — The Holy Ghost dwelling in my heart is my 
fitness for heaven. I have only to get there ; and I 
have, by this great gift, all tastes, desires, and faculties, 
for it: I have the eyes to comtemplate it: I have the 
ears for heaven's music : and I can speak the language of 
the country. The Holy Ghost in me is my fitness and 
qualification for the splendid inheritance for which the 
Son of God has redeemed me. 

Mr. M. — Would you make a distinction between 
Christ's work for us and the Spirit's work in us? 

Mr. R. — Christ's work for me is the payment of my 
debt; the giving me a place in my Father's home, the 
place of sonship in my Father's family. The Holy 
Spirit's work in me is to make me fit for His company. 

Mr. M. — You distinguish, then, between the work of 
the Father, the work of the Son, and the work of the 
Holy Ghost. 

Mr. R. — Thanks be to God, I have them all, and I 
want them all — Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. I read 
that my Heavenly Father took my sins and laid them 
on Christ ; "The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of 
us all." No one else had a right to touch them. Then 
I want the Son, who " His own self bare my sins in 
His own body on a tree." And I want the Holy Ghost ; 
I should know nothing about this great salvation, and 



HOW TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN. 115 

care nothing for it, if the Holy Ghost had not come 
and told me the story, and given me grace to be- 
lieve it. 

Mr. M. — What is meant when we are told that Christ 
saves " to the uttermost?" 

Mr. R. — That is another grand truth. Some people 
are troubled by the thought that they will not be able 
to hold out if they come to Christ. There are so many 
crooked ways, and pitfalls, and snares in. the world; 
there is the power of the flesh, and the snare of the 
devil. So they fear they will never get home. The 
idea of the passage is this. Suppose you are on the 
top of some splendid mountain, very high up. You 
look away to where the sun sets, and you see many a 
river, and many a country, and many a barren waste 
between. Christ is able to save you through and 
over them all, out and out, and beyond — to the utter- 
most. 

Mr. M. — Suppose a man came in here just out of 
prison : all his life he has been falling, falling, till he 
has become discouraged. Can Christ save him all at 
once? 

Mr. R. — It is just as easy for Christ to save a man 
with the weight of ten thousand sins upon him and all 
his chains around him, as to save a man with one sin. If 
a man has offended in one point, the Scripture says he 
is guilty of all. 

Mr. M. — If a man is forgiven, will he go out and do 
the same thing to-morrow? 

Mr. R. — Well, I hope not. All I can say is that if 
we do, we shall smart for it. I have done many a 
thing since the Lord revealed Himself to my soul that 



116 GOSPEL DIALOGUES. 

I should not have done — I have gone backward and 
downward ; but I have always found that it does not 
pay when I do anything that grieves my Heavenly 
Father. I think He sometimes allows us to taste the 
bitterness of what it is to depart from Him. And this is 
one of the many ways by which He keeps us from falling 

Mr. M. — What do you consider to be the great sin 
of sins ? 

Mr. R. — The Word of God tells us that there is only 
one sin of which God alone can convince us. If I cut 
a man's throat or if I steal, it does not need God to 
convince me that that is a sin. But it takes the power 
of the Holy Ghost to convince me that not to receive 
Christ, not to love Christ, not to believe in Christ, is 
the sin of sins, the root of sins. Christ says, " When 
the Spirit is come, He will convince the world of sin, 
because they believe not on Me." 

Mr. M. — What do you mean by the Word of God? 

Mr. R. — The Son of God is the Word of God incar- 
nate : the Bible is the Word of God written. The one 
is the Word of God in my nature : the other is the 
Word of God in my language. 

Mr. M. — If a man receives the word of God into 
his heart, what benefit is it to him, right here to-night ? 

Mr. R. — The Father and the Son will make their 
abode with him ; and he will be the temple of the 
Holy Ghost. Where He goes the whole Trinity goes ; 
and all the promises are his. " Man doth not live by 
bread alone ; but by every word that proceedeth out of 
the mouth of God." 

Mr. M. — Who is it that judges a man to be unworthy 
of eternal life? 



HOW TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN. 117 

Mr. R. — Himself ! ! There is a verse in Acts xiii 
that is worth remembering : " Seeing ye put it [the 
Word of God] from you, and judge yourselves unworthy 
of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles." God 
does not judge us unworthy. He has given His Son 
for our salvation. When a man puts away the 
Word of God from him and refuses to receive Christ 
into his heart, he judges himself unworthy of salva- 
tion. 

Mr. M. — I understand, then, that if a man rejects 
Christ to-night, he passes judgment on himself as un- 
worthy of eternal life? 

Mr. R. — He is judging himself unworthy, while God 
does not so consider him. God says you are welcome to 
eternal life. 

Mr. M. — If any one here wants to please God to- 
night, how can he do it ? 

Mr. R. — God delights in mercy. Come to God and 
claim His mercy in Christ ; and you will delight His 
heart. 

Mr. M. — Suppose a man say he is not " elected? " 

Mr.R. — Do you remember the story of the woman 
of Canaan ? Poor soul ; she had come a long journey. 
She asked the Lord to have mercy on her afflicted 
child. He wanted to try her faith, and He said: "I 
am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of 
Israel." That looked as if He Himself told her that 
she was not one of the elect. But she came and wor- 
shipped Him, saying, " Lord, help me ! " and He helped 
her there and then. No ; there is no election separat- 
ing between the sinner and Christ. 

Mr. M. — Say that again. 



118 GOSPEL DIALOGUES. 

Mr. R.— There is no election separating be- 
tween THE SINNER AND CHRIST. 

Mr. M. — What is there between the sinner and 
Christ? 

Mr. R.— Mercy ! ! Mercy! ! 

Mr. M. — That brings me near to Christ. 

Mr. R. — So near that we cannot be nearer. But we 
must claim it. In John we get God's teaching about 
election. " This is the Father's will which hath sent 
Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose 
nothing ; but should raise it up again at the last day.'* 
He will do his work, you may depend upon it. Then 
in the next verse we read : " And this is the will of Him 
that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and 
believeth on Him, may have everlasting life : and I will 
raise him up at the last day." That is the part I am 
to take : and when I have done so I shall know the 
Father's will concerning me. 

Mr. M. — What do you mean by the NEW BlRTH? 

Mr. R. — I judge it by what I know of the Old Birth, 
I was born of human parents into the human family ; 
so I belong to Adam's race by nature and by genera- 
tion, and I inherit Adam's sin and curse accordingly. 
The new birth is from my union by faith with the 
second Adam ; but this is by grace, not nature : and 
when I receive the Lord Jesus Christ I am born of God 
— not by generation, but by regeneration. As I am 
united to the first Adam by nature and generation, so I 
am united by faith through grace and regeneration to the 
second Adam, and inherit all His fullness accordingly. 

Mr. M. — What is the meaning of being " saved by 
the Blood?" 



HOW TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN. 119 

Mr. R. — A gentleman asked me that in the inquiry- 
room ; " What do you mean by the ' the Blood ? " It 
is the poured-out life of the Son of God — forfeited as 
the atonement for sinners' sins. 

Mr. M. — Is it available now ? 

Mr. R. — Yes ; as much as ever it was. 

Mr. M. — You mean it is just as powerful to-day as it 
was eighteen hundred years ago when He shed it ? 

Mr. R. — If the blood of Abel cried out for vengeance 
against his slayer, how much more does the blood of 
Christ cry out for pardon for all who plead it ! " It 
cleanseth (present tense) from all sin." 

Mr. M. — How do you get faith? 

Mr. R. — By hearing God's Word. " Faith cometh 
by hearing; and hearing by the Word of God." 

Mr. M. — How do you get the Holy Ghost? 

Mr. R. — In the same way as you get faith. The 
Holy Ghost uses the Word as the chariot by which He 
enters the believer's soul. The Gospel is called " the 
ministration of the Spirit." 

Mr. M. — Is the Word of God addressed to all here? 

Mr. R. — " He that hath an ear, let him hear what 
the Spirit saith to the Churches" (Rev. iii 22). 

Mr. M.— What is the Gospel? 

Mr. R. — " Good tidings of great joy, which shall be 
to all people." If our Gospel, proclaiming life, pardon, 
and peace, is not as applicable for salvation to the vilest 
harlot here as to the greatest saint in London, it is not 
Christ's Gospel we preach. 

Mr. M. — What reason does the Scripture give for the 
Gospel being hid to some? 

Mr, R. — It is "hid to them that are lost; in whom 



120 GOSPEL DIALOGUES. 

the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them 
which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel 
of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine into 
them." May God open all our eyes, and take away the 
veil of unbelief with which the devil may be blinding 
any of us ! 

Mr. M. — Are there not many who give an intellect- 
ual assent to all these things ; and who yet have no 
power, and no divine life? 

Mr. R. — An intellectual assent is not faith. I have 
never found anyone who really believed God's Word 
who did not get power in believing it. People may 
assent to it ; but I do not admit that that is believing 
it. I do not think there is any man or woman here 
who really believes the Gospel of the grace of God, who 
has not been taught it by the Holy Ghost. I could 
easily cross-examine any one of those " intellectual 
believers " who imagines he believes God, but really 
does not ; and he would break down in a few minutes. 

Mr. M. — For whom, then, did Christ die? 

Mr. R. — For "THE UNGODLY." 

Mr. M. — Why is salvation obtained by faith? 

Mr. R. — That it might be by grace. " For this 
cause it is of faith, that it may be according to grace ?" 

Mr. M. — How may a man know if he has eternal 
life? 

Mr. R. — By not treating God as if He were a liar, 
when He tells us He has given us eternal life in His 
Son. 

Mr. M. — What is the. means by which the New 
Birth we were speaking of is effected ? 

Mr. R. — " Of His own will begat He us with the 



HOW TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN. 121 

word of truth." " Being born again, not of corruptible 
seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God .... 
and this is the Word, which by the Gospel is preached 
unto you/' 

"Oh, the wondrous love of Jesus 

To redeem us with His blood ! 
Through His all-atoning merit, 

He has brought us near to God : 
For the boundless grace that saves us 

We His name will magnify; 
He is coming in His glory, 

We shall see Him by and by ! 

" Oh, the wondrous love of Jesus 
To redeem our souls from death ! 
We will thank Him, we will praise Him, 

While His mercy lends us breath : 
We are waiting — only waiting — 

Till He comes our souls to bear 
To the Home beyond the shadows, 
In His Kingdom over there ! " 

F. J. Crosby. 




III.— MR. MOODY AND MR. RADSTOCK. 

WHAT IT IS TO BE CONVERTED. 

>R. MOODY: Christ says, " Except ye be 
converted, and become as little children, 
ye shall not enter into the kingdom of 
heaven." What is it to be converted? 

Mr. Radstock: To be "converted" is to turn to 
God, who is the only one that can save. We cannot 
save ourselves even by our religion. Therefore, in 
order to salvation we must turn to God, who alone has 
the grace, the wisdom, and the power to save. 

Mr. M.— What is it to be born of the Spirit? 

Mr. R. — Man, by nature, cannot enter into the 
thoughts of God. He cannot hold communion with 
God until he has a new nature. The natural man re- 
ceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God : he has no 
capacity until he has the new life which God will give 
him by the power of the Holy Ghost. 

Mr. M. — Can he get that to-day if he repents? 

Mr. R. — Yes. Repentance means a change of mind 
— a turning away from his own thoughts to hear the 
voice and the message of God. If we listen to the voice 
of God and confess our sins, God is " faithful and just 
to forgive us our sins." 

Mr. M. — To whom are we to confess our sins ? 

Mr. R. — When the light of God comes in, we see 
that we are guilty before him ; then we are constrained 

(122) 



WHAT IT IS TO BE CONVERTED. 123 

to go and lay our case before Him. If we confess our 
sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us. 

Mr. M. — There is a passage that says the Lord Jesus 
Christ bear our sins. In what sense did He bear our 
sins. 

Mr. R. — The Lord Jesus Christ had really laid to 
His charge sins which He had never committed. He 
was punished as if He had been the sinner. Therefore 
on the cross He cried out, " My God, my God, why 
hast Thou forsaken me?" God was dealing with Jesus 
as if He had really been the guilty one. 

Mr. M. — Do we get any help by believing that? 

Mr. R. — When I believe God's testimony, God's 
witness about Jesus, I then can trust myself to God, 
Giving myself to God, God becomes my Saviour. 

Mr. M. — Have these friends the power to believe ? 

Mr. R. — They are commanded to believe. They 
can believe it just as well as they can believe any other 
fact, if they only listen to God's voice. But they must 
get rid of their own thoughts, and listen to God : Hear- 
ing His voice they will believe. " Faith cometh by 
hearing : and hearing by the Word of God." 

Mr. M. — All the sinner has to do is to repose in the 
promises of God? 

Mr. R. — Simply to trust Himself to God. 

Mr. M. — What would you say to a man who says he 
has tried a good many times and failed ; and who has 
become discouraged? 

Mr. R. — That man has probably made a good many 
resolutions, hoping that he would gradually make him- 
self a Christian by going through this or that process, 
or by doing this or that thing. Of course he failed, 



124 GOSPEL DIALOGUES. 



because he tried to make himself a Christian. Instead 
of trying to save himself, let him trust in God, who has 
pledged His word that every one who believes on the 
Lord Jesus Christ has at that moment everlasting life. 

Mr. M. — Should a man not break off from some of 
his sins before he comes to God? Suppose he swears 
or has a bad temper, should he not get a little control 
over his temper, or stop swearing, before he comes to 
Christ? 

Mr. R. — God knows that a man's nature is wrong : 
therefore He has promised to give a man a new nature. 
We must therefore go to God, just as a man goes to a 
physician, because he needs to be cured of some 
disease. 

Mr. M. — Can a drunkard or a blasphemer be saved 
all at once? 

Mr. R. — Paul says : " To him that worketh not, but 
believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly" — bad 
people, lost people, ruined people — " his faith is 
counted for righteousness." When he believes God, 
God becomes his Saviour. God is the friend of sinners. 

Mr. M.— What is it to believe God? 

Mr. R.— To take Him at His word. 

Mr. M. — Do you not think there are a good many 
here who believe that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the 
world ; and yet they are not saved ? 

Mr. R. — No doubt ; because they have not believed 
for themselves. A man at the time of the Deluge, for 
instance, might have said, " Yes, I believe it is a very 
good ark indeed ; and that it will save those who get 
into it." But it. does not follow that he got into it him- 
self. The ark only saved those who went into it. So, 



WHAT IT IS TO BE CONVERTED. 125 

when a man trusts in Jesus Christ for himself, Jesus 
becomes his personal and eternal Saviour. 

Mr. M — What if he should fall into sin after he has 
believed in Christ ? 

Mr. R. — " These things write I unto you that ye 
sin not," says John ; " and if any man sin, we have an 
Advocate with the Father." The Good Physician will 
not give up His case because of the disease; He will 
deal with it. The Good Shepherd will not turn His 
poor wandering sheep away ;' He will go after it, and 
bring it back. He has promised that He will save His 
people from their sins. 

Mr. M. — Is salvation within the reach of every man 
here to-night ? 

Mr. R. — Jesus said, " God so loved the world that 
He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever be- 
lieveth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting 
life." 

Mr. M. — But some say they do not feel that ; they 
do not realize it. 

Mr. R. — When they take God at His word, and 
cast themselves upon Him, whether they feel it or not 
— when they confess Jesus Christ as their Lord — the 
Holy Ghost will come as a power to make them realize 
it. For instance, a man at the time of the Deluge 
might have stood outside the ark, and said, " I cannot 
realize how this ark will lift me up above the waters." 
But if he were inside when the flood came he would 
realize it. The sinner must believe first, and have his 
experience afterwards. A man is told that a certain 
train will take him to Edinburgh. He has never been 
there : he does not understand about this particular train ; 



126 GOSPEL DIALOGUES. 

and he cannot realize that it will take him there. But 
he knows that he may trust the friend who told him ; 
so he gets into the train. Then he realizes that he is 
in the train ; by and by he will be able to realize that 
he is in Edinburgh. 

Mr. M. — Would you advise people to come to God as 
they are, with their unfeeling, treacherous, hard hearts 
— with any kind of heart ? 

Mr. R. — God has provided this salvation for lost 
sinners — those who are thoroughly bad and corrupt. 
It is for such that God has shown His salvation, His 
love, His grace. 

Mr. M. — What would you say to any one who thinks 
he has no power to believe ? 

Mr. R. — He has the power to believe. Probably 
he is trying to believe something about himself, to feel 
something about himself instead of giving credit to 
God — He is not asked to realize this or that about 
himself, but to believe the faithful God. 

Mr. M. — Some say they have no power to overcome 
a besetting sin ? 

Mr. R. — Jesus came proclaiming liberty to the 
captives. As we read in the beautiful words of the 
Church of England Prayer-book : " Though we be tied 
and bound by the chains of our sin, let the pitifulness 
of Thy mercy save us." Jesus Christ takes the pris- 
oners of sin and breaks off their chains. 

Mr. M. — There is something said about confessing 
Christ. Would you advise any one who wants to be- 
come a Christian to start right here by confessing Christ 
with the mouth? 

Mr. R. — God is already on your side, whoever you 



WHAT IT IS TO BE CONVERTED. 127 

are. Christ is Immanuel — God with us and for us. 
He is already on your side, whether you believe it or 
not. Now it is for you to decide whether He shall be 
your Saviour. He says that if you own Him as Lord 
— who is now the one rejected by the world — He is 
responsible to be your Saviour from that moment. 




IV.— MR. MOODY AND PASTOR MONOD. 

SALVATION. 

|R. MOODY.— What is the first step to- 
wards salvation ? 

Pastor Monod. — We find the answer 
in the history of the Prodigal Son. If 
we look for the first symptom of his getting back into 
the right path we shall discover it in these words : 
"When he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine 

in that land ; and he began to be in want 

And when he came to himself, he said ... I will 
arise and go to my father." The first step towards 
salvation is to come to one's self — a long journey some- 
times. Then, coming to himself, the sinner feels a 
sense of need, whatever the need may be. To the 
Prodigal Son, it was hunger. In many cases, com- 
monly, indeed, it is a need of forgiveness; but that is 
not always the beginning. It may be simply a need of 
strength ; or it may be a need of comfort. Others, 
again, chiefly feel a need of love ; well, God answers 
that. No matter by what door you come, provided 
you do come. I remember a French friend, now gone 
to his rest, who told me of his conversion — a very strik 
ing one. He said to me, "No, I cannot say I had a very 
strong sense of sin. I just felt happy in the love of 
God. God did to me as a mother will sometimes do to 

(128) 



SALVATION. 129 



her child when he has overslept himself: He woke me 
with a kiss." 

Mr- M. — Is it a present salvation? Can any one be 
saved here to-night ? 

Pastor M. — I cannot see how it can be salvation 
at all, if it is not present salvation. If a drowning 
man is not being saved now, I do not see in what sense 
he is being saved. What says the Apostle ? " Ye are 
saved by grace, through faith." In one sense, of course, 
our salvation has been accomplished in the past ; Christ 
has done it all, and we have but to receive it, In an- 
other sense, our salvation, in its fulness, is still future, 
and " is nearer now than when we believed." Yet it is 
also true that we are saved now ; just as a drowning 
man is saved now, although he may not yet have put 
on dry clothes, or feel perfectly comfortable. 

Mr. M. — Does Faith or Repentance come first ? 

Pastor M.— In the Gospel of Mark we read : "After 
that John was put in prison Jesus came into Galilee, 
preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of God, and say- 
ing: The time is fulfilled ; and the kingdom of God is 
at hand : repent ye, and believe the Gospel." The 
Apostle Paul said to the elders of Ephesus : " I kept 
back nothing that was profitable unto you ; but have 
showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from 
house to house, testifying both to the Jews, and also 
to the Greeks, repentance towards God and faith 
towards our Lord Jesus Christ." Both repentance and 
faith are needful ; and they are inseparable. If, how- 
ever, we must name them in succession, repentance 
comes first. 

An illustration may make this plain. What is Re- 



130 GOSPEL DIALOGUES. 

pentance ? It is not a feeling at all ; it is an act. 
Repentance means turning round.. Conversion and 
repentance are two translations of the same word. 
Well, suppose you do turn away from your sin ; that 
is not enough : you must look to Christ as your Sav- 
iour. The unconverted sinner turns his back upon the 
Lord : what must he do in order to look to Christ and 
to believe in Him ? He must turn round. If he does 
not turn round he cannot see the Saviour ; and if he 
does see the Saviour, it is evident that he has turned 
round. Which of the two acts comes first? The 
turning round, of course. That at once puts him in a 
position to look away from his sin to his Saviour. I 
cannot hold on to my sin at the same time that I am 
looking to Christ. Nor am I able to forsake my sin ex- 
cept by looking to Christ. But I turn to Him, who is 
ready to forgive the sin which I am willing to forsake. 
Repentance puts me in the right position for believing; 
and I might add that believing is, in its turn, a most 
powerful means of repentance ; indeed, the bitterest tears 
of repentance flow after we have believed in the love of 
Christ. 

When I was pastor of a French Canadian church, 
the elders of the church asked a poor old woman who 
could not even read, " What have we to do in order to 
be saved ? " She answered, timidly : " Why, but it 
seems to me that if one has got a good repentance in 
our Lord Jesus Christ one is saved." I had never 
heard the expression before, and thought it a very 
striking one ; it seemed to settle the vexed question 
about repenting and believing : what she experienced, 
you see, was a good repentance in our Lord Jesus Christ. 



SAL VA TION. 131 



Mr. M.— What is it to " believe ? " 

Pastor M. — The commonest things are the most dif- 
ficult to define. Suppose Mr. Moody asked me, What 
is life? or, What is love? It would not be easy to give 
an answer. What is it to believe ? Well, to believe 
a person, is to consider that person as truthful. To 
believe a thing, is to consider that thing as true. 

If you believe me, then, you take it for granted that 
any promise I make you will be fulfilled. If you 
believe that a bank note which is offered you is gen- 
uine, you reckon it as worth $5, or $10, or $50, though 
it is but a piece of paper. If you have the slightest 
doubt about its genuineness, then you dare not count 
it as so much money. If you feel certain that it is 
forged, you take no account of it at all. In the two 
latter cases you decline to accept it. The proof of the 
trusting is in the taking. 

Mr. M. — Many think they must wait God's time in 
order to be saved. What is God's time ? 

Pastor M. — It seems to me that we have given the 
answer with our own lips this very day. We have been 
singing — 

"While Jesus whispers to you, come, sinner, come ! 
While we are praying for j r ou, come, sinner, come ! 
Nozv is the time to own Him, come, sinner, come ! 
Now is the time to know Him, come, sinner come ! " 

And again : 

" One there is who lDves thee, oh, receive Him now ! 
He has waited all the day — why waitest thou ? " 

But we have better than hymns ; we have the Word 
of God. There we are told very definitely what the 



132 GOSPEL DIALOGUES. 

time is. He saith, " I have heard thee in a time 
accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored 
thee ; behold, now is the accepted time ; behold, now is 
the day of salvation." We may think that we are wait- 
ing ; but it is God who is waiting for us all the while. 
When we do decide, of course we have a right to say : 
Now is God's time to receive me. But we ought to 
have decided long before. How would it do to tell an 
undutiful son that he should return to his father some 
day ; or by and by ; or to-morrow ? His plain duty is 
to return now. 

Mr. M. — So, if these friends go away unsaved, they 
are adding sin to sin ? 

Pastor M. — Surely : because unbelief is not a misfor- 
tune, it is a sin — the one sin of which the Holy Ghost 
is to convince men ; " of sin, because they believe not 
on Me." We are making God a liar as long as we 
refuse to receive the record He has given concerning 
His Son. 

Mr. M. — After they believe, what have they to do ? 
A good many are afraid to receive Christ because they 
think that when they go out to-morrow, they will have 
the same temptations as to-day, and will fall into sin 

Pastor M. — They forgot that if they do believe to- 
night, then they have got hold of Christ, and Christ has 
got hold of them. He says : "Abide in Me, and I in 
you." If I believe in Christ I am one with Him. " He 
that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." Henceforth 
I am to draw all my life from Christ, not from myself. 
" In me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing," 
but " the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, hath 
made me free from the law of sin and death." 



SALVATTON. 133 



A Christian workingman, being asked by what means 
he kept walking in the paths of obedience, replied : 
" Well, I came to the Saviour ; He received Me ; and I 
never said, ' good-bye.' " 

Mr. M. — Suppose they do fall into sin after they 
have believed? 

Pastor M. — We should not, and need not, fall into 
sin ; but we may and we do fall into sin. If we have 
thus fallen, we are told most distinctly what we should 
do. " If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the 
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." " If we confess 
our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, 
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Have we 
fallen ? Let us return to Christ, and make a clean 
breast of it. Let us tell Him all about it ; and then let 
us resume the path of obedience, resting, not upon our 
good resolutions, but upon Himself, upon His blood 
shed for us, upon His word, upon His love, remem- 
bering what is said in the Epistle of Jude about "Him 
who is able to keep us from falling." 

Will anybody reply, " Oh, ye ; it is written that He 
is able, but not that He is willing ? " What an offense 
to God ! Suppose you are a surgeon, and you tell a 
poor man whose arm is broken, " My good fellow, I am 
able to cure you." He implores you to do so. "Ah," 
you add, " but I did not say I was willing ! " Why, if 
you were not willing, the least you could do would be 
to let the man alone. But to go and taunt him by say- 
ing that you were able when you were not willing, 
would be cruel and heartless. Not one of us " who 
are evil" would do such a thing ; much less our Father 
who is in heaven. No ; when God says that Jesus is 



134 GOSPEL DIALOGUES. 

" able to save to the uttermost," " able to keep us from 
falling/' that surely implies that He is willing. Let us 
then have full confidence, not leaning upon ourselves 
or upon these meetings, blessed as they are, but only 
upon the faithfulness of God. 

Mr. M. — Tell us how we can have a victorious life 
right along, all the while. 

Pastor M. — Well, first of all, is such a life com- 
manded and promised to us ? What does Christ say ? 
" Be of good cheer ; I have overcome the world." " My 
grace is sufficient for thee." What does Paul say? 
" We are more than conquerors in Him that loved us." 
What does John say ? " Who is he that overcometh the 
world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of 
God ? " The victorious life of faith is summed up in 
the last verse of Col. i. : " I also labor, striving accord- 
ing to His working, which worketh in me mightily." 
The Apostle was laboring and striving all the time, 
but all the energy for that striving and that laboring 
came from Christ ; it was His working that worked 
mightily in His servant. 

If we are to overcome our enemies, in the first place 
we must take our right position in Christ. As it is said 
in Romans vi. : " Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead 
indeed unto sin, but alive unto God in Jesus Christ our 
Lord." Begin with that. It is not something to be 
found at the further end of the Christian life : it is the 
real, practical, starting point. Say to yourself : " I am 
dead to sin, not through any effort of mine, but through 
the death of Christ." u One died for all, therefore all 
died." (R. V.) Reckon it so. Do not consult your feel- 
ings about it. Take it as an accomplished fact that the 



SALVATION. 135 



death of Christ stands between the man that you were 
and the man that you are. But, further, we are to 
reckon ourselves as alive unto God. God commands us 
to make the reckoning ; so we need not shrink from it. 
or fear that it shall not prove true. Then when a temp- 
tation comes, say to that temptation : " I am alive 
unto God ; I am stronger than you, O tempter ! I stand 
in the power of the resurrection of Christ. You shall 
not overcome me ; but by thus trying my faith you 
shall only make it the stronger." For it is a glorious 
fact that every temptation over which we triumph 
through faith in Christ leaves us stronger than before. 
Need I add, alas ! that every time we give way we are 
weakened. 

The victory belongs to us. Let us take hold of it 
and go forth " conquering, and to conquer." And if 
there be failing in our faith, with defeat as the conse- 
quence, let us not be discouraged by them — still less 
reconcile ourselves to them. Let us keep aloft our 
only banner — the Cross of Christ. Let us trust the 
promises of God in Christ, which are the promises of 
pardon, of peace, of deliverance, of purity, of power, 
of joy, of victory, of plenteous and everlasting redemp- 
tion. 

" Shall I shrink and be afraid ? — 
' I will help thee,' Christ hath said. 
Shall I flee before the foe 
When His arm can lav him low ? 
Jesus! Rock of strength divine, 
Be my watchword, ' Christ is mine! ' 

u Shall I sigh for cisterns here, 
When a fountain floweth near ? 



136 GOSPEL DIALOGUES, 

Shall I carry life's sad weight, 

Weeping o'er my lost estate ? 

Nay ! Salvation's might shall shine 
In my watchword, ' Christ is mine 1' " 

Anna Shipton. 



Works of D. L. Moody. 

By the strenuous cultivation of his gift Mr. Moody has attained to a clear and in 
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COLLEGE STUDENTS AT NORTHFIELD; or, A College of 

Colleges, No. 2. Conducted during July, t 888: Containing addresses 
by Mr. D. L. Moody, Rev. J. Hudson Taylor, M. D., Bishop Hendrix, 
Rev. Alex. McKenzie, D.D., Rev. Henry Clay Trumbull, D.D., Prof, 
W. B. Harper, and others. 

The " Practical Talks " as given in report of last year's gathering, the demand for 
which haj called for a seventh edition, has induced us to publish an account of this year's 
proceedings, none the less " practical, ' and we feel sure will be as fully appreciated. 

12mo, 296 Pages, Cloth, $1.00 net. 

Dr. A . T. Pier son writes : " Admirable book. I deem it one of the best of all the 
practical helps issued by the press." 

Dr. Joseph Cook.— "It is well edited, well printed, and well inspired from on High. 
Is full of a Holy Fire of spiritual zeal, which I hope to see spread far and wide." 

President M. E. Gates, of Rutgers College, writes : " The influence which has 
gone out on the College Life of this country, from the summer meetings at Northfield, is so 
potent for good, that I welcome the extension and perpetuation of that influence through 
this look." 

SEVENTH THOUSAND. 

A COLLEGE OF COLLEGES; or, Practical Talks to College 

Students. Given in July, 1887, by Prof. Henry Drummond, F.R.S.S., 
Rev. J. A. Broadus, D.D., Prof. Townsend, Rev. A. T. Pierson.D.D., 
Mr. D. L. Moody, and others. 

12mo, 288 Pages, Cloth, Sl.OO net. 

" Of signal value." — Chautauqua Herald. 

"We commend this volume very cordially." — Presbyterian Witness. 
" The volume closes with a chapter of ' nuggets ' from Northfield, which is no excep- 
tion, however, as the other chapters are equally rich in ' nuggets.' " — The Indepetident. 

D. L. MOODY AT HOME. His Home and Home Work. 

Embracing a description of the educational institutions established at 
Northfield, Mass., together with an account of the various noted gath- 
erings of Christian workers at the place, and the most helpful and sug- 
gestive lectures, and the best thoughts there exchanged ; adding, also, 
many helpful and practical hints. 

12mo, 288 Pages, Cloth, Eight Illustrations, $1.00. 

The New York Independent says : " There is nothing in the career of this remark- 
able man more striking than his work at Northfield." 

The New York Evangelist spoke most truly when it said : " The public is unaware 
of Mr. Moody's enormous investments at Northfield, that will pay him abundant interest 
long after he reaches heaven." 



CHICAGO: FJomTTmlJ PdItdTT Pfl NEW YORK: 

148-150 Madison Street, f lulillllU fli xVoUull UU. 30 Union Square Ho-*; 



Writings of Rev. P. B. MEYER, B. A. 

« ^ » — 

Mr. Meyer always writes to edification.— C. H. SPURGEON. 



ffi g Z p t) . Beloved— Hated— Exalted. Cloth, 16 mo., $1.00. 

In the present volume Mr. Meyer retells with skill and pathos the 
old-world story of the Israelitish youth who rose through pit and prison to 
the post of Premier of Egypt; a story of undying interest and worth, not 
only as a true tale of Eastern romance, but as a unique example of the 
value of piety, purity of life and fidelity in service. 



* 



IOTH THOUSAND. 

b r a [) a ttt : or, The Obedience of Faith. Cloth, 16 mo., $1.00. 



A book we would very heartily commend to those who desire to make 
progress in Christian life and experience; each will find it helpful and sug- 
gestive, sending new light upon many a well-known narrative. — Christian 
Progress. 

The contents of the book before us are such that no one can rise from 
its perusal without feeling consciously strengthened in God and inspired 
afresh for the Godly life. — Sunday-School Chronicle. 

Really a very beautiful work, which will be read with delight by 
many a fireside. After all, this home-like treatment of Scripture biography, 
with the object of bringing out the spiritual lessons, is amongst the highest 
and most profitable studies. — The Freeman. 

I3TH THOUSAND. 

^S r a e I : A Prince with God. Cloth, 16 mo., $1.00. 

Mr. Meyer has great descriptive power. He can tell a narrative 
well. This subject in his hand glows with life, and the scenes and events in 
the history of his hero pass vividly before you, and are ever being used to 
force home some important principle. — British Messenger. 

With a keen moral insight, and a deep spiritual sympathy, he de- 
scribes the piety and weakness of the best beloved of the Patriarchs. 
— Christian Leader. 

Exceedingly good, not only spiritual, but also thoughtful, fresh, sug- 
gestive and thoroughly practical. — C. H. Spurgeon, in Sword and Trowel. 

From first to last the book is richly suggestive and spiritually fruit- 
ful. — Word and Work. 

I5TH THOUSAND. 

4J? H| a \) : and the Secret of his Power. Cloth, 16 mo., $1.00. 

The leading object of this volume is to show that Elijah's God is our 
God; and how a like dependence may be ours if our dependence is in the 
living God. It is encouraging and stimulating; yet full of solemn warnings. 
Some parts are grandly written and of thrilling interest. — Footsteps of 
Truth. 

Good, exceedingly good ! Mr. Meyer is a great gain to the armies of 
Evangelical truth; for his tone, spirit and aspirations are all of a fine Gospel 
sort. — Sword and Trowel. 

newyork :: Fleming H. Revell Co. :: Chicago. 



WRITINGS OF REV. F. B. MEYER, B. A. 



^^J^XXCb bt5 JFit£*" Expositions of the First Epistle of Peter. Cloth, 

We doubt whether any work has appeared since the time of Leighton, 
on the same subject, which equals the one before us. These expositions of 
one of the richest of the Epistles are brightly and beautifully written, and 
infused by a lofty and evangelical Christian spirit — Primitive Methodist. 

2IST THOUSAND. 

ffi ljg prisint Senses of tlis fflissift Cifc cioth, 32 mo. , 50c. 

We commend the book as one that cannot fail to be read with profit. 
— Evangelical Christendom. 

A gem and brimful of spiritual life. — Methodist New Connexion 
Magazine. 

20TH THOUSAND. 

(J^ tltistian doing* cioth, 32 mo., 50c. 

Full of sweetness and light. No Christian can read it and fail to 
receive stimulus in the direction whither the true-hearted would go. — Con- 
gregational Magazine. 

Special stress is made in this little volume on the practical side of the 
Christian life. Thoughts calculated to strengthen and inspire in the per- 
formance of every-day duties, are put in clear and simple form.— Advance. 

Tbey prove most refreshing reading; and for the culture of the relig- 
ous life we can recommend nothing better.- -Standard. 

I9TH THOUSAND. 

Meditations on the 23d Psalm. Cloth, 32 



ffi lje Sljeptjerb flsalm. 



mo., 50c. 



We have never read anything so charming on the Twenty- third 
Psalm. It is full of beauty and poetry. Anything that this gifted and 
spiritual author writes requires no recommendation, as he is well known to 
the Christian public. — Irish Congregational Magazine. 

Mr. Meyer has given us a devotional work on this inspired Psalm 
which every Christian man and woman should not only read but carry about 
in his pocket in order to snatch even amid the busy employment of life an 
uplifting and elevating thought. This little book is worth its weight in 
gold. — Central Baptist. 

Envelope Series of Booklets, by Rev. F. B. Meyer. 

The Chambers of the King. Words of Help for Christian The Lost Chord Found. 
With Christ in Separation. Girls. Why Sign the Pledge ? 

Seven Rules for Dai y Living. The Filling of the Holy Spirit. The Secret of Power. 
The Secret of Victory over Sin. The Stewardship of Money. Our Bible Reading. 
The First Step into the Blessed Where am I Wrong? The Secret of Guidance. 

Life. Young Man, Don't Drift! Peace, Perfect Peace. 

20c. per dozen, or $1.50 per 100. 
CHOICE EXTRACTS from writings of F. B. Meyer, 48 pages, 5c. per copy; 35c. dozen. 

newyork. :; Fleming H. Revell Co. ••: Chicago. 



New Books for — 

■~ Thinking Minds. 

♦ > ♦ •» 

WHAT ARE WE TO BELIEVE ? or, The Testimony of Ful- 
filled Prophecy. By Rev. John Urquhart. i6mo., 230 pages, 
cloth, 75 cents. 

" This book, so small in bulk but so large in thought, sets forth a great mass of such tes- 
timony in lines so clear and powerful that we pity the man who could read it without 
amazement and awe. It is the very book to put into the hands of an intelligent Agnostic." 
— The Christian, London. 

MANY INFALLIBLE PROOFS. By Rev. Arthur T. Pierson, 
D. D. 317 pp. i2mo. Cloth, $1.00, paper, 35 cents. 

" It is not an exercise in mental gymnastics, but an earnest inquiry after the truth."— 
Daily Telegram, Troy, N. Y. 

" He does not believe that the primary end of the Bible is to teach science ; but he 
argues with force and full conviction that nothing in the Bible has been shaken by scientific 
research. "—Independent. 

HOW I REACHED THE MASSES; Together with twenty-two 
lectures delivered in the Birmingham Town Hall on Sunday after- 
noons. By Rev. Charles Leach, F. G. S. i6mo., cloth, $1.00. 

There is much of very welcome good sense and practical illustration in these addresses. 
Pithy and pointed in admonishment, and wholesome in their didactic tone, they ought to 
exercise a good influence. 

ENDLESS BEING; or, Man Made for Eternity. By Rev. J. L. 
Barlow. Introduction by the Rev. P. S. Henson, D. D. Cloth, 
i6mo., 165 pages, 75 cents. 

An unanswerable work ; meeting the so-called annihilation and kindred theories m 3st 
satisfactorily. The author held for years these errors, and writes as one fully conversant 
with the ground he covers. It is a work which should be widely circulated, 

PAPERS ON PREACHING. By the Right Rev. Bishop Baldwin, 
Rev. Principal Rainy, D. D., Rev. J. R. Vernon, M. A., and others. 
Crown, 8vo, cloth, 75 cents. 

"Preachers of all denominations wili do well to read these practical and instructive 
disquisitions. The essay on " Expression in Preaching " is especially good. — Christian. 

THE SABBATH ; its Permanence, Promise, and Defence. 
By Rev. W. W. Everts, D. D. i2mo., 278 pages, cloth, $1.00. 

No phase of the Sabbath question is left undiscussed, while every topic is treated in the 
briefest manner, and every touch of light shows the hand of a master. 

" An incisive and effective discussion of the subject." — N. Y. Observer. 

" A thoughtful Christian defence of that divine institution." — Christian Advocate. 

QUESTIONS OF THE AGES. By Rev. Moses Smith. 
Cloth i2mo, 132 pages, 75 cents. 

Is there Common Sense in Religion^ 

What is Faith ? 

Is there a Larger Hope <. 



What is the Almighty? 

What is man ? 

What is the Trinity ? 

Which zs the Great Commandment . 



Is Li/e Worth Living? 



What Mean these Stones? 

" Discusses certain of the deep things of the Gospel in such a wise and suggestive 

fashion that they are helpful. One, answers negatively and conclusively the question, Is 

there a larger hope ? ' — The Congregationalist. 



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Attractive Truths in Lesson and Story. By Mrs. A. M. Scudder, ttith 
introduction by Rev. F. E Clarke, Prest. Y. P. S. C. E. 12 mo; 
cloth, $1 25. 

A series of outline lessons with illustrative stories for Junior Christian Endeavor 
Societies, for Children's meetings and for home teaching-. 

Not only for workers among children wib this work be appreciated, but mothers 
will find it a delightful Sunday afternoon volume for their children, suggesting an end- 
less variety of "occupations," besides charming with its many beautiful stories 

Children's Meetings and How to Conduct Them. By Lucy J. Rider. 

and Nellie M. Carman, introduction by Bishop J. H. Vincent. 208 

pp., cloth, illustrated, $1 00; paper covers, 50 cents. 

"Mr. Revell has conferred a iavor on the Christian public, especially that lar^e 
part of it interested in the right training of children, in publishing this most practical 
work." — The Advance. 

*'Just such a work as teachers have long wanted. It will at once take a place 
among the indispensables." — N. Y. Observer. 

"Among the contributors to this volume are nearly all the best known Sundav- 
school writers of this country. The book is a cyclopedia of helpful hints on the best 
plans of working among the children, plans suggested by the actual experience of the 
contributors." 

Clear as Crystal. By Rev. R. T. Cross. Fifty, five minute talks on les- 
sons from Crystals. 206 pp., beveled cloth, $1 00. 

"The Sermons belong to the five minute series, and are models of what can be 
done in so brief a space." — The Independent . 

"Most interesting in style, and full of spirituality . We comment this volume es- 
pecially to teachers who understand the value of fresh illustrations from nature." — 
The Christian at Work. 

Talks to Children. By Rev. T. T. Eaton, D. D., with introduction by 
Rev. John A. Broadus, D. D., LL. D. 16 mo. cloth, $1 00. 

"Dr. Eaton's Talk* appear to us to possess in an unusual degree the qualities 
which interest and profit young hearers and readers. They reproduce Scripture his- 
tory in the terms of modern life and give it both a vivid setting: before the youthful 
imagination, and a firm grip on the youthful conscience." — The Independent. 

"We have examined this work with intense interest. We have read many books 
of this kind, but we honestly believe that this volume of Dr. Eaton's excels them all.' 1 '' — 
Central Baptist. 

"The best book of the kind we remember to have seen. We commend it especially 
to parents reading aloud to their children Sunday afternoon."— Examiner. 

Short Talks to Young Christians, on the Evidences of Christianity. 

By Rev. C. O. Brown. 168 pages, cloth, 50c, paper, 30 cents. 

"Books that are reallv useful, on the evidences of Christianity, could almost be 
counted on one's fingers. One which has been singled out from a host of others by its 
plain straight forward sense is 'Short Talks to Young Christians on the Evidences 1 , 
by t e Rev. C. O. Brown. 11 — Sunday School Times. 

Conversion of Children. By Rev. E. P. Hammond. A practical volume 

replete with incident and illustration. Suggestive, important and timely. 

184 pages, cloth, 75 cents, paper cover, 30 cents. 
Young People's Christian Manual. By Rev. Chas L Morgan. 321110 

booklet, 5 cents; 25 copies, $1 00. 

A Catechetical Manual for the instruction of the young for use in Pastors' Train- 
ing Classes, Societies of Christian Endeavor, Sunday School, or Family. 

"I have for years felt the need of something of this sort. I wish the Manual, 
might be wanted as widely as I am sure it is needed. 1 ' — yosiah Strong, D. Z>., author 
'•'■Our Country" 



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CHICAGO: FIdITITIIIT U DdTtdTT Pn NEW Y0RK: 

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Popular Helps for Pulpit and Platform. 



Spurgeon's Sermon Notes. Vol. 1, Genesis to Proverbs. $1.00. Vol. £, 
Ecclesiastes to Malachi, $1.00. Vol. 3, Matthew to Acts, $1.00. 
Vol. 4, Romans to Revelations, $1.00. 

"It is a rare treat to get into the study and as it were, behind the scenes with a 
great man like Charles Spurgeon. In these analyses, thorough and elaborate as they 
are, one discovers the method of the Ta ernacle preacher. Each of the sermon 
outlines have an accompaniment of apt illustrations and side-lights." — Standard. 

"Every paragraph opens a mine of riches." — Interior. 



EIGHTH EDITION. 

The Prayermeeting and its Improvement. By Rev. L. O. Thompson. 

12 mo; cloth, $1.25. 

"Most heartily do we wish this work a wide circulation, both among pastors and 
people, and we hope it may do much towards the lifting of the prayer-meeting into 
that higher place which it ought to hold among the grand instrumentalities in the 
kingdom of the Master."— Congregationa list. 

"Mr. Thompson says some capital things in a telling manner, and, as his pag-es 
are full of fire and gunpowder, we hope certain old, worn-out things among us will be 
exploded, and good things set on fire. This is so good a book that we wish we could 
afford to give a copy of it to every young minister." — C. H. Spurgeon. 



Books of Illustration, Anecdote, Etc., for Teachers and Preachers. 

Seed Corn for the Sower. Compiled by Rev. C. Perrin, Ph. D. 12 

mo; cloth, % 1.50. 

No public speaker need be reminded of the effective power of an apt illustration or 
the difficulty of obtaining such as are fresh and to the point. "Seed Corn" consists of 
the material from a working pastor's note book, gathered during a ministry of over a 
quarter of a century. 

"To teachers and all engaged in Bible instruction, it will prove a volume of great 
help and usefulness and furnish readv to their hand many a nail with which to fasten in 
a sure place the truths they may desire to drive home."- Christian at Work. 

Feathers for Arrows. By Rev. C. H. Spurgeon. 12 mo; cloth, $1.00. 

A choicer collection of illustrations we do not know. Mr. Spurgeon has few 
equals in the choice and use of effective illustration matter. 

Spurgeon's Gems. Being a collection of extracts, pointed, brilliant and 
effective, from the works of Rev. C. H. Spurgeon. 12 mo; cloth, $1.00. 

Gleanings Among the Sheaves. By Rev. C. H. Spurgeon. 16 mo; 
cloth, 60 cents. 
Full ripe ears are these if they are but "gleanings." 

Bowes' (Rev. G. S.) Scripture, Itself the Illustrator. Cloth, $1.25. 

" " Information and Illustration for Sermons and 

Addresses. Cloth, $1.25. 

Two well known and most helpful books of illustration. 



new york. Fleming H. Revell Company, Chicago. 



Send for a list of contents of entire series. 

A LIBRARY OF CRITICAL, LBARNING. 



AK EXCEPTIONAL OFFER. 




PRESENT DAY TRACTS. 

A SERIES OFTEN VOLUMES COVERING A WIDE RANGE OF SUBJECTS ON 
CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE, DOCTRINE AND MORALS. 

We wish to place this set of books in the library of every thoughtful 
minister. 

The set cannot but be desired as soon as their worth is known. 

The subjects treated are the leading topics of the day, and the writers 
are acknowledged authorities on the particular themes discussed. 

Note the remarkable list of names included among the contributors. 

Bev. James Ivebach, M.A., 



Principal Caiens, 

Rev. C. A. Row, 

W. G. Blaokie, D.D., LL.D., 

Pbebendaey Row, M.A., 

Rev. Noah Porter, D.D., 

Canon Bawlinson, 

8. R. Pattison, F.G.S., 

Db. Fbiedbich Pfaff, 

Dean of Canteebuey, 

Heney Wage, D.D., 

Rev. W. F. Wilkinson, M.A., 

James Legge, LL.D., 

Rev. W. G. Elmslie, M.A., 

Dean of Chestee, 

J. Mubeay Mitchell, LL.D., 

F. Godet, D.D., 

Eustace P. Condee, M.A., D.D 



A. H. Sayce, M.A. 

Rev. J. Radfoed Thomson, M.A., 

Rev. William Aethub, 

Sie W. Muib, 

Rev. A. B. Beuce, D.D., 

Alexandee Maoalisteb, M.A., M.D. 

Bev. G. F. Maolear, D.D., 

Bev. J. Stoughton, D.D., 

Bev. B. MoCheyne Edgab, M.A.. 

Bev. John Cairns, D.D., 

Sib J. William Dawson, F.R.S., 

Bev. W. S. Lewis, M.A., 

Bev. John Kelly, 

Bev. M. Kaufmann, M.A., 

Canon Giedlbstone, 

And others. 



Can you in any other shape add to your library so much valuable 
material with so small an expenditure? 

These have until lately been sold at $1.25 per vol., $12.50 per set. 
The price has now been reduced to $10.00 per set, and we make the 
following 

Special Offer, viz. : We will send this remarkable set of books to 
any minister for the special net price of $7.50 Per Set. 



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